IPS 2267 

PI 
1905 
'Copy 1 






Class TS^^^^ 

Book._ • 



Copyright )j^. 



{<i^0 \ 



COPYRIGHT DEP0S5T. 



HIAWATHA 



PART I 

X 



NOTES BY W. F, ROCHELEAU 

author of 

"Great American Industries," "The Geography of Commerce ani> 

Industry." "Fables and Tales," and "Notes on Evangeline, 

Snowbound, Enoch Arden and Rip Van Winkle." 



CHICAGO 
ORVILLE BREWER PUBLISHING CO., 

1905 



T-^ 



Lf>-' 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

DEC 8 1905 

^Copyrieht Entry 
CLASS CL XXC. No. 
COPY B. 



COPYRIGHT, 1905, 
BY ORVILtE BREWER. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Longfellow, Biographical Sketch . . v 

Hiawatha 

Introduction" . • • . 1 

I. The Peace Pipe . . .5 

11. The Four Winds ... 9 

III. Hiawatha's Childhood . . 18 

IV. Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis . 'a5 
V. Hiawatha's Fasting . . 33 

VI. Hiawatha's Friends . . 41 

VII. Hiawatha's Sailing . . .46 

VIII. Hiawatha's Fishing . . 50 

IX. Hiawatha and the Pearl Feather . 57 

X. Hiawatha's Wooing . . 66 

Introduction to Notes . . . .74 

Notes ...... 75 

Glossary . . . . .86 



LONGFELLOW 

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

Henry W. Longfellow, America's most popular poet, was born in 
Portland, Me., Feb. 22, 1807. His father was a graduate of Harvard 
College and one of the leading lawyers of the town, and was at one 
time a member of Congress. His mother, Zilpah Wordsworth, was a 
descendant from John Alden and Priscilla Mullens whom the poet 
immortalized in The Courtship of Miles Standish. We know but lit- 
tle of Longfellow's childhood and youth. He spent his early years 
amid the charming scenery of Portland and its surroundings, with 
an occasional visit to the forests of Maine, where some of his mother's 
relatives lived. His recollections of Portland form a good part of the 
charming poem. My Lost Youth, and from his sojourn in the Maine 
woods he was enabled to describe the ^^ forest primeval" with which 
he introduces us to the abode of Evangeline. 

At the age of fifteen we find Longfellow a student in Bowdoin 
College. Among his classmates were Nathaniel Haw^thorne, John S. 
C. Abbott, and a number of others who became prominent in litera- 
ture, law or politics. The poet's, college career was uneventful. He 
w^as a thorough and industrious student and graduated second in a 
class of thirty-seven. Soon after he entered college his poetic powers 
attracted attention, and during his stay at Bowdoin a number of his 
poems found their way into many daily and weekly papers. As a 
student he manifested those traits of character which made him uni- 
versally loved in later years. He was always kind, courteous and 
sociable, a true friend and a perfect gentleman. 

On completing his college course Longfellow began the study of 
law in hia father's office. But previous to this he had written his 
father that he believed himself to be fitted for a literary career and 
that in such a career he would succeed. He soon learned that he 
was in no wise suited for the law, the profession which his father 
wanted him to follow. At about this time he received the appoint- 
ment of professor of modern languages in Bowdoin College, with 
leave of absence to enable him to study abroad. With this appoint- 
ment the poet's eminent career began. He was but twenty-two years 
of age and was the first professor of modern languages appointed in 

V 



vi Longfellow 

an American college, lie spent nearly three years in Europe, visit- 
ing France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain and England, and 
studying the languages and literatures of these countries. Two years 
after his return he married Miss Mary Storer Potter, a lady of most 
charming character. Four years later Mrs. Longfellow died while 
accompanying the poet on a second tour of Europe. This great sor- 
row overshadowed the poet's life and affected his work for a number 
of years, during which some of his saddest poems were written. In 
the Footsteps of Angels, written in memory of Mrs. Longfellow, he 
speaks of her as the Being Beauteous. 

Then the forms of the departed 

Enter at the open door; 
The beloved, the true-hearted, 

Come to visit me once more. 

And with them the Being Beauteous, 

Who unto my youth Avas given. 
More than all things else to love me. 

And now a saint in heaven. 

Before lie went abroad the second time Mr. Longfellow had been 
appointed professor of modern languages in Harvard, and on his 
return he took up his abode in Cambridge, residing at the Craigie 
house, which he afterwards purchased. The house was already 
famous as the headquarters of Washington during the siege of Bos- 
ton in the Revolutionary War, and the young professor was given 
the room formerly occupied by the great commander. He recalls the 
former occupant in these lines: 

Once, ah once within these walls. 
One whom memory oft recalls. 
The Father of his Country dwelt. 
And yonder meadows broad and damp 
The fires of the besieging camp 
Encircled with a burning belt. 

Longfellow faithfully discharged his duties at Harvard for seven- 
teen years, when he gave up the position to devote his time entirely 
to literary work. He was succeeded by another distinguished author 
and poet, James Russell Lowell. A few years after assuming his 
duties at Harvard, Longfellow married ]\Iiss Frances Elizabeth Ap- 
pleton, who was the Mary Ashburton of Hyperion, a prose romance 
which he wrote after his second trip abroad. Five children were born 



Longfellow vii 

to this imion, two sons and three daughters. Charles, the eldest son, 
won distinction in the Civil War, and Ernest became a celebrated 
artist. The poet has made us acquainted with the daughters in the 
Children's Hour. 

From my study I see in the lamplight, 

Descending the broad hall stair. 
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra, 

And Edith with golden hair. 

Many of his best know^n and more fondly cherished poems were 
written while he was at Harvard. The first volume of his verse, 
Voices of the Night, appeared in 1839. Says one of his biographers: 

"There is not one of the Voices of the Night that is not familiar 
as household words. The lines and phrases pass current in fragments 
of quotation. The ideas and metrical forms are as unmistakable as 
doxologies and proverbs. The solemn monotone of The Psalm of Life 
was heard around the world. The Beleaguered City, Footsteps of 
Angels, The Light of Stars and Flowers, have a spiritual as well as 
an earthly beauty. They are a gospel of good-w^ill in music. * * * 
These poems and others in the succeeding volumes like them, are our 
heart treasures. They are our and our children's inheritance. They 
are wholly without parallel in our daj^ in the quality of touching and 
elevating the moral nature." 

Three years later the volume. Ballads, appeared. Many of these 
ballads are also household words. For more than two generations 
The Wreck of the Hesperus, The Skeleton in Armor, Excelsior, and a 
host of others have been mouthed by school boys from one end of the 
country to the other. 

Longfellow's best poem.s were suggested by incidents or experi- 
ences and were written without effort. The Psalm of Life was writ- 
ten one bright, sunny morning as the poet was looking from his win- 
dow and admiring the beauty of nature, just as he was emerging 
from the period of gloom and sorrow caused by the death of his wife. 
By many this is considered the most famous of all his productions, 
and it has been translated into the languages of all civilized nations. 
Excelsior, also widely known, was suggested by seeing the word on a 
scrap of paper which the poet picked up on the street. Immedi- 
ately his imagination took fire. He took from his pocket a letter 
from Charles Sumner, and on the back of it at once wrote the 
poem, substantially as published. Concerning the purpose of this 



viii Longfellow 

poem, the author says: "It was my intention to display, in a series 
of pictures, the life of a man of genius, resisting all temptations, lay- 
ing aside all fears, heedless of all warnings, and pressing right on to 
accomplish his purpose. " T/ie Old Clock on the Stair was suggested 
by an ancient time piece standing in the hallway of the Appleton 
residence at Pittsfield. Resignation, by the death of his little daugh- 
ter Fanny. 

Following his resignation at Harvard, IMr. Longfellow engaged in 
more arduous literary work and the next few years were the most 
productive of all. To this period belong Evangeline, The Courtship 
of Miles Standish, Hiawatha, The Tales of the Wayside Inn, several 
translations and other short poems. Paid Revere's Ride, King Rob- 
ert of Sicily and Legend Beautifid are among the best known of the 
Tales. Others are based on the legends and folk lore of the Old 
World and all are of interest. Birds of Passage is another collection 
of short poems containing many well-known favorites. 

Longfellow has been appropriately stj^led the children's poet. His 
songs have gladdened the hearts and stirred the best impulses of the 
boys and girls from the time of their publication, and no other poet 
of the land is read and loved by so many young people. On Feb. 
22, 1879, the poet's seventy-second birthdaj^ the children of Cam- 
bridge presented him with a chair made from the wood of the 
"spreading chestnut tree" of the Village Blacksmith. The touching 
poem, From my Arm-Chair, was his response to his young friends. 

The next year his last volume of poems, Ultima Thule, was issued. 
In 1881 his strength began to fail, and early in the following winter 
Longfellow was obliged to deny himself to callers. This was one of 
his greatest trials. For nearly fifty years the Craigie House had been 
his home and his workshop, and during all this time its door had 
never been closed to visitors, and the poet Avas never too busy to ex- 
tend a glad hand and give a word of cheer and comfort to the hum- 
blest caller. 

On March 25, 1882, surrounded by the members of his family, he 
passed to the better land. "He paj^sed away in a full age, like as a 
shock of corn cometh in his season . ' ' 

"There is no flower of meek delight. 

There is no star of heavenly pride. 
That shines not sweeter and more bright 

Because he lived, loved, sang and died." 



INTRODUCTION 



Should you ask me, whence these stories? 

Whence these legends and traditions, 

With the odors of the forest, 

With the dew and damp of meadows, 

With the curling smoke of wig'wams, ^ 

With the rushing of great rivers. 

With their frequent repetitions, 

And their wild reverberations. 

As of thunder in the mountains ? 

I should answer, I should tell you, ^^ 

^'From the forests and the prairies. 
From the great lakes of the Northland, 
From the land of the jib ways. 
From the land of the Dacotahs, 
From the mountains, moors, and fen-lands, ^^ 

Where the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Feeds among the reeds and rushes, 
I repeat them as I heard them 
From the lips of Nawadaha, 
The musician, the sweet singer. '^ 20 

Should you ask where Nawadaha 
Found these songs so wild and wayward, 
Found these legends and traditions, 
I should answer, I should tell you, 
^^In the blrd's-nests of the forest, 25 

In the lodges of the beaver. 
In the hoof-prints of the bison, 
In the e}T:'y of the eagle! 

**A11 the wild-fowl sang them to him. 
In the moorlands and the fen-lands, 

1 



30 



2 Introduction 

In the melancholy marshes ; 

Chetowaik, the plover, sang them, 

Malm, the loon, the wild goos3, AVawa, 

The blue heron, the Shuh-slmh-gah, 

And the grouse, the Mushkodasa!" ^^ 

If still further you should ask me, 
Saying, ^^Who was Nawadaha? 
Tell us of this Nawadaha," 
I should answer your inquiries 
Straightway in such words as follow. ^^ 

^ ' In the Vale of Tawasentha, 
In the green- and silent valley. 
By the pleasant water-courses. 
Dwelt the singer Nawadaha. 

Eound about the Indian village ^^ 

Spread the meadows and the cornfields. 
And beyond them stood the forest. 
Stood the groves of singing pine-trees. 
Green in Summer, white in Winter, 
Ever sighing, ever singing. ^^ 

^'And the pleasant water-courses, 
You could trace them through the valley. 
By the rushing in the Spring-time, 
By the alders in the Summer, 
By the white fog in the Autumn, ^^ 

By the black line in the Winter ; 
And beside them dwelt the singer, 
In the vale of Tawasentha, 
In the green and silent valley. 

^' There he sang of Hiawatha, ^® 

Sang the Song of Hiawatha, 
Sang his wondrous birth and being. 
How he prayed and how he fasted, 
How he lived, and toiled, and suffered. 
That the tribes of men might prosper, ^^ 

That he might advance his people!'' 



80 



Introduction 3 

Ye who love the haunts of Nature, 
Love the sunshine of the meadow, 
Love the shadow of tie forest, 
Love the wind among the branches, '^^ 

And the rain-shower and the snow-storm, 
And the rushing of great rivers. 
Through their palisades of pine-trees, 
And the thunder in the mountains. 
Whose innumerable echoes '^^ 

Flap like eagles in their eyries; — 
Listen to those wild traditions, 
To this Song of Hiawatha! 

Ye who love a nation 's legends. 
Love the ballads of a people. 
That like voices from afar oft" 
Call to us to pause and listen. 
Speak in tones so plain and childlike, 
Scarcely can the ear distinguish 
Whether they are sung or spoken;— 
Listen to this Indian Legend, 
To this Song of Hiawatha ! 

Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple. 
Who have faith in God and Nature, 
Who believe that in all ages ^^ 

Every human heart is human. 
That in even savage bosoms 
There are longings, yearnings, strivings 
For the good they comprehend not. 
That the feeble hands and helpless, ^^ 

Groping blindly in the darkness. 
Touch God's right hand in that darkness 
And are lifted up and strengthened;— 
Listen to this simple story. 
To this song of Hiawatha! i^^ 

Ye who sometimes, in your rambles 
Through the green lanes of the country. 



85 



4 Introduction 

Where the tangled barberry-bushes 

Hang their tufts of crimson berries 

Over stone walls gray with mosses, los 

Pause by some neglected graveyard, 

For a while to muse, and ponder 

On a half-effaced inscription. 

Written with little skill of song-craft, 

Homely phrases, but each letter ^^^ 

Full of hope and yet of heart-break. 

Full of all the tender pathos 

Of the Here and the Hereafter; — 

Stay and read this rude inscription, 

Eead this song of Hiawatha ! ^^^ 



THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 



I. 

THE PEACE-PIPE 



On the Mountains of the Prairie, 

On the great Red Pipe-stone Quaxry, 

Gitche Manito, the miglity, 

He the Master of Life, descending. 

On the red crags of the quarry ^ 

Stood erect, and called the nations, 

Called the tribes of men together. 

From his footprints flowed a river, 
Leaped into the light of morning. 
O'er the precipice plunging downward i^ 

Gleamed like Ishkoodah, the comet. 
And the Spirit, stooping earthward, 
With his finger on the meadow 
Traced a winding pathway for it. 
Saying to it, ^'Run in this way!" i^ 

From the red stone of the quarry 
With his hand he broke a fragment. 
Moulded it into a pipe-head. 
Shaped and fashioned it with figures ; 
From the margin of the river 20 

Took a long reed for a pipe-stem. 
With its dark green leaves upon it ; 
Filled the pipe with bark of willow, 
With the bark of the red willow; 
Breathed upon the neighboring forest, 25 

Made its great boughs chafe together, 
Till in flame thev burst and kindled : 



30 



6 The Song of Hiawatha 

And erect upon the mountains, 
Gitehe Manito, the mighty, 
Smoked the calumet, the Peace-Pipe, 
As a signal to the nations. 

And the smoke rose slowly, slowly. 
Through the tranquil air of morning, 
First a single line of darkness, 
Then a denser, bluer vapor, ^5 

Then a snow-white cloud unfolding, 
Like the tree-tops of the forest, 
Ever rising, rising, rising. 
Till it touched the top of heaven, 
Till it broke against the heaven, ^^ 

And rolled outward all around it. 

From the Vale of Tawasentha, 
From the Valley of Wyoming, 
From the groves of Tuscaloosa, 
From the far-oif Eocky Mountains, ^5 

From the Northern lakes and rivers. 
All the tribes beheld the signal, 
Saw the distant smoke ascending, 
The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe. 

And the Prophets of the nations 50 

Said: '^ Behold it, the Pukwana! 
By this signal from afar off. 
Bending like a wand of willow. 
Waving like a hand that beckons, 
Gitehe Manito, the mighty, ^^ 

Calls the tribes of men together. 
Calls the warriors to his council ! " 

Down the rivers, o'er the prairies. 
Came the warriors of the nations, 
Came the Delawares and Mohawks, 
Came the Choctaws and Camanches, 
Came the Shoshonies and Blackfeet, 
Came the Pawnees and Omahas, 



60 



65 



80 



The Peace-Pipe 

Came the Mandans and Dacotabs, 
Came the Hurons and jib ways, 
All the warriors drawn together 
By the signal of the Peace-Pipe, 
To the Mountains of the Prairie, 
To the great Red Pipe-stone Quarry. 

And they stood there on the meadow, '^^ 

With their weapons and their war-gear. 
Painted like the leaves of Autumn, 
Painted like the sky of morning. 
Wildly glaring at each other; 
In their faces stern defiance, '^^ 

In their hearts the feuds of ages. 
The hereditary hatred. 
The ancestral thirst of vengeance. 

Gitche Manito, the miglity. 
The creator of the nations. 
Looked upon them with compassion, 
With paternal love and pity; 
Looked upon their wrath and wrangling 
But as quarrels among children. 
But as feuds and fights of children! 

Over them he stretched his right hand. 
To subdue their stubborn natures, 
To allay their thirst and fever. 
By the shadow of his right hand; 
Spake to them with voice majestic 
As the sound of far-off waters 
Falling into deep abysses. 
Warning, chiding, spake in this wise: — 

*^0 my children! my poor children! 
Listen to the words of wisdom, 95 

Listen to the words of warning. 
From the lips of the Great Spirit, 
From the Master of Life, who made you! 

^^I have given you lands to hunt in. 



90 



8 The Song of Hiawatha 



100 



I have given you streams to fisli in, 

I have given you bear and bison, 

I have given you roe and reindeer, 

I have given you brant and beaver, 

Filled the marshes full of wild-fowl. 

Filled the rivers full of fishes ; 105 

Why then are you not contented! 

Wiy then will you hunt each other! 

^'I am weary of your quarrels, 
Weary of your wars and bloodshed. 
Weary of your prayers for vengeance, ii^ 

Of your wranglings and dissensions ; 
All your strength is in your union, 
All your danger is in discord; 
Therefore be at peace henceforward, 
And as brothers live together. us 

^'I will send a Prophet to you, 
A Deliverer of the nations, 
Who shall guide you and shall teach you 
Who shall toil and suffer with you. 
If you listen to his counsels, 120 

You will multiply and prosper; 
If his warnings pass unheeded, 
You will fade away and perish ! 

^^ Bathe now in the stream before you, 
Wash the war-paint from your faces, 125 

Wash the blood-stains from your fingers. 
Bury your war-clubs and your weapons. 
Break the red stone from this quarry, 
Mould and make it into Peace-Pipes, 
Take the reeds that grow beside you, ^^^ 

Deck them with your brightest feathers, 
Smoke the calumet together. 
And as brothers live henceforward!" 

Then upon the ground the warriors 
Threw their cloaks and shirts of deer-skin, ^^^ 



' The Four Winds 9 

Threw their weapons and their war-gear, 

Leaped into the rushing river, 

Washed the war-paint from their faces. 

Clear above them flowed the water, 

Clear and limpid from the footprints '^^^ 

Of the Master of Life descending; 

Dark below them flowed the water, 

Soiled and stained with streaks of crimson. 

As if blood were mingled with it! 

From the river came the warriors, ^^^ 

Clean and washed from all their war-paint; 
On the banks their clubs tliey buried. 
Buried all their warlike weapons. 
Gitche Manito, the mighty. 

The Great Spirit, the creator, ^^^ 

Smiled upon his helpless children. 

And in silence all the warriors 
Broke the red stone of the quarry, 
Smoothed and formed it into Peace-Pipes, 
Broke the long reeds by the river, i^s 

Decked them with their brightest feathers, 
And departed each one homeward. 
While the Master of Life, ascending, 
Through the opening of cloud-curtains. 
Through the doorways of the heaven, ^^^ 

Vanished from before their faces. 
In the smoke that rolled around him. 
The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe! 

11. 

THE FOUE WINDS. 

'* Honor be to Mudjekeewis!" 

Cried the warriors, cried the old men. 

When he came in triumph homeward 



10 The Song of Hiawatha 

With the sacred Belt of Wampum, 

From the regions of the North- Wind, » 

From the kingdom of AVabasso, 

From the land of the White Rabbit. 

He had stolen the Belt of Wampmn 
From the neck of Mishe-Mokwa, 
From the Great Bear of the mountains lo 

From the terror of the nations, 
As he lay asleep and cumbrous 
On the summit of the mountains, 
Like a rock with mosses on it, 
Spotted brown and gray with mosses. i^ 

Silently he stole upon him. 
Till the red nails of the monster 
Almost touched him, almost scared him. 
Till the hot breath of his nostrils 
Warmed the hands of Mudjekeewis, 20 

As he drew the Belt of Wampum 
Over the round ears, that heard not. 
Over the small eyes, that saw not. 
Over the long nose and nostrils. 
The black muffle of the nostrils, 25 

Out of which the heavy breathing 
Warmed the hands of Mudjekeewis. 

Then he swung aloft his war-club. 
Shouted loud and long his war-cry, 
Smote the mighty Mishe-Mokwa ^o 

In the middle of the forehead, 
Eight between the eyes he smote him. 

With the heavy blow bewildered, 
Rose the Great Bear of the mountains ; 
But his knees beneath him trembled, 35 

And he whimpered like a woman, 
As he reeled and staggered forward. 
As he sat upon his haunches; 
And the mighty Mudjekeewis, 



45 



50 



The Four Winds 11 

Standing fearlessly before him, *^ 

Taunted him in loud derision, 
Spake disdainfully in this wise: — 

''Hark vou, Bear! vou are a coward, 
And no Brave, as you pretended; 
Else you would not cry and whimper 
Like a miserable woman! 
Bear! you know our tribes are hostile. 
Long have been at war together; 
Now you find that we are strongest. 
You go sneaking in the forest. 
You go hiding in the moutains! 
Had you conquered me in battle 
Not a groan would I have uttered; 
But you, Bear! sit here and whimper, 
And disgrace your tribe by crying, ^^ 

Like a wretched Shaugodaya, 
Like a cowardly old woman!" 
Then again he raised his war-club, 
Smote again the Mishe-Mokwa 
In the middle of his forehead, ^^ 

Broke his skull, as ice is broken 
When one goes to fish in Winter. 
Thus was slain the Mishe-Mokwa, 
He the Great Bear of the mountains, 
He the terror of the nations. 65 

''Honor be to Mudjekeewis ! " 
With a shout exclaimed the ]:)eoi)le, 
"Honor be to Mudjekeewis! 
Henceforth he shall be the West-Wind, 
And hereafter and forever 70 

Shall he hold supreme dominion 
Over all the winds of heaven. 
Call him no more Mudjekeewis, 
Call him Kabeyun, the AYest-Wind!" 

Thus was Mudjekeewis chosen "75 



80 



12 The Song of Hiawatha 

Father of the AYinds of Heaven. 
For hmiself he kept the West-AYind, 
Gave the others to his children; 
Unto Wabun gave the East- Wind, 
Gave the South to Shawondasee, 
And the Xorth-Wind, wild and cruel, 
To the fierce Kabibonokka. 

Young and beautiful was Wabun; 
He it was who brought the morning, 
He it was whose silver arrows ^5 

Chased the dark o'er hill and valley; 
He it was whose cheeks were painted 
With the brightest streaks of crimson. 
And whose voice awoke the village, 
Called the deer, and called the hunter. ^0 

Lonely in the sky was W^abun; 
Though the birds sang gayly to him. 
Though the wild-flowers of the meadow 
Filled the air with odors for him. 
Though the forests and the rivers ^5 

Sang and shouted at his coming. 
Still his heart was sad within him, 
For he was alone in heaven. 

But one morning, gazing earthward, 
While the village still was sleeping, lOO 

And the fog lay on the river, 
Like a ghost, that goes at sunrise. 
He beheld a maiden walking 
All alone upon a meadow. 

Gathering water-flags and rushes 105 

By a river in the meadow. 

Every morning, gazing earthward, . 
Still the first thing he beheld there 
Was her blue eyes looking at him, 
TVo blue lakes among the rushes. no 

And he loved the lonely maiden, 



The Four Winds 13 

Who thus waited for his coming; 
For they both were solitary, 
She on earth and he in heaven. 

And he wooed her with caresses, us 

With his flattering- words he wooed her. 
With his sighing and his singing, 
Gentlest whispers in the branches. 
Softest music, sweetest odors, 120 

Till he drew her to his bosom. 
Folded in his robes of crimson. 
Till into a star he changed her. 
Trembling still upon his bosom ; ' 
And forever in the heavens 125 

They are seen together walking, 
Wabun and the Wabun-Annung, 
Wabun and the Star of Morning. 

But the fierce Kabibonokka 
Had his dwelling among icebergs, i^^ 

In the everlasting snow-drifts. 
In the kingdom of Wabasso, 
In the land of the Wliite Rabbit. 
He it was whose hand in Autumn 
Painted all the trees with, scarlet, i^^ 

Stained the leaves with red and yellow ; 
He it was who sent the snow-flakes, 
Sifting, hissing through the forest. 
Froze the ponds, the lakes, the rivers, 
Drove the loon and sea-gull southward, 140 

Drove the cormorant and curlew 
To their nests of sedge and sea-tang 
In the realms of Shawondasee. 

Once the fierce Kabibonokka 
Issued from his lodge of snow-drifts, 1^5 

From his home' among the icebergs. 
And his hair, with snow besprinkled, 
Streamed behind him like a river, 



14 The Song of Hiawatha 

Like a black and wintry river, 

As lie howled and hurried southward, ^^^ 

Over frozen lakes and moorlands. 

There among the reeds and rushes 
Found he Shingebis, the diver, 
Trailing strings of fish behind him, 
O'er the frozen fens and moorlands, ^^^ 

Lingering still among the moorlands, 
Though his tribe had long departed 
To the land of Shawondasee. 

Cried the fierce Kabibonokka, 
"Who is this that dares to brave me? ^^^ 

Dares to stay in my dominions, 
When the Wawa has departed. 
When the wild-goose has gone southward. 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Long ago departed southward! ^^^ 

I will go into his wigwam, 
I will put his smouldering fire out!'' 

And at night Kabibonokka 
To the lodge came wild and wailing 
Heaped the snow in drifts about it, i*^^ 

Shouted down into the smoke-flue, 
Shook the lodge-poles in his fury, 
Flapped the curtains of the door-way. 
Shingebis, the diver, feared not, 
Shingebis, the diver, cared not; 1^5 

Four great logs had he for wire-wood, 
One for each moon of the winter, 
And for food the fishes served him. 
By his blazing fire he sat there. 
Warm and merry, eating, laughing, 180 

Singing, "0 Kabibonokka, 
You are but my fellow-mortal!" 

Then Kabibonokka entered. 
And though Shingebis, the diver. 



The Four Winds 15 

Felt his presence by the coldness, 1^5 

Felt his icy breath upon him, 

Still he did not cease his singing, 

Still he did not leave his laughing, 

Only turned the log a little, 

Only made the fire burn brighter, i^^ 

Made the sparks fly up the smoke-flue. 

From Kabibonokka 's forehead. 
From his snow-besprinkled tresses, 
Drops of sweat fell fast and heavy, 
Making dints upon the ashes, 1^5 

As along the eaves of lodges. 
As from drooping boughs of hemlock, 
Drij)s the melting snow in spring-time. 
Making hollows in the snow-drifts. 

Till at last he rose defeated, 200 

Could not bear the heat and laughter, 
Could not bear the meriy singing. 
But rushed headlong through the door-way, 
Stamped upon the crusted snow-drifts. 
Stamped upon the lakes and rivers, 205 

Made the snow upon them harder. 
Made the ice upon them thicker. 
Challenged Shingebis, the diver, 
To come forth and wrestle with him, 
To come forth and wrestle naked 210 

On the frozen fens and moorlands. 

Forth went Shingebis, the diver. 
Wrestled all night with the iSTorth-Wind, 
"Wrestled naked on the moorlands 
With the fierce Kabibonokka, 215 

Till his panting breath grew fainter. 
Till his frozen grasp grew feebler, 
Till he reeled and staggered backward. 
And retreated, baffled, beaten. 
To the kingdom of Wabasso, 220 



225 



16 The Song of Hiawatha 

To the land of the White Rabbit, 
Hearing still the gusty laughter, 
Hearing Shingebis, the diver. 
Singing, ^'0 Kabibonokka, 
You are but my fellow-mortal!" 

Shawondasee, fat and lazy,— 
Had his dwelling far to southward. 
In the drowsy, dream.y sunshine, 
In the never-ending Summer. 
He it was who sent the wool-birds, 230 

Sent the robin, the Opechee, 
Sent the bluebird, the Owaissa, 
Sent the Shawshaw, sent the swallow. 
Sent the wild-goose, Wawa, northward. 
Sent the melons and tobacco 235 

And the grapes in purple clusters. 

From his pipe the smoke ascending 
Filled the sky with haze and vapor, 
Filled the air with dreamy softness, 
Gave -a twinkle to the water. 240 

Touched the rugged hills with smoothness. 
Brought the tender Indian Summer 
To the melancholy North-land, 
In the dreary Moon of Snow-shoes. 

Listless, careless Shawondasee! 245 

In his life he had one shadow, 
In his heart one sorrow had he. 
Once, as he was gazing northward. 
Far away upon a prairie 

He beheld a maiden standing, 250 

Saw a tall and slender maiden 
All alone upon a prairie; 
Brightest green were all her garments, 
And her hair was like the sunshine. 

Day by day he gazed upon her, 255 

Day by day he sighed with ])assion, 



The Four Winds 17 

Day by day his heart within him 

Grew more hot with love and longing 

For the maid with yellow tresses. 

But he was too fat and lazy ^^^ 

To bestir himself and woo her; 

Yes, too indolent and easy 

To pursue her and persuade her. 

So he only gazed upon her, 

Only sat and sighed with passion ^^^ 

For the maiden of the prairie. 

Till one morning, looking northward. 

He beheld her yellow tresses 

Changed and covered o'er with whiteness, 

Covered as with whitest snow-flakes. ^"'^ 

''Ah! my brother from the North-laud, 

From the kingdom of Wabasso, 

From the land of the White Kabbit! 

You have stolen the maiden from me. 

You have laid your hand upon her, 

You have wooed and w^on my maiden 

With your stories of the North-land!" 
Thus the wretched Shawondasee 

Breathed into the air his sorrow ; 

And the South- Wind o'er the prairie 

Wandered warm with sighs of passion. 

With the sighs of Shawondasee, 

Till the air seemed full of snow-flakes. 

Full of thistle-down the prairie. 

And the maid with hair like sunshine 

Vanished from his sight forever; 

Never more did Shawondasee 

See the maid with yellow tresses ! 

Poor, deluded Shawondasee! 
'Twas no woman that you gazed at, 
'Twas no maiden that you sighed for, 
'Twas the prairie dandelion 



275 



280 



285 



290 



18 The Song of Hiawatha 

That through all the dreamy Summer 

You had gazed at with such longing, 

You had sighed for with such passion, 295 

And had puffed away forever, 

Blown into the air with sighing. 

Ah! deluded Shawondasee! 

Thus the Four Winds were divided ; 
Thus the sons of Mudjekeewis ^oo 

Had their stations in the heavens, 
At the corners of the heavens; 
For himself the West-Wind only 
Kept the mighty Mudjekeewis. 



III. 



Hiawatha's chh^dhood. 

Downward through the evening twilight. 

In the days that are forgotten, 

In the unremembered ages, 

From the full moon fell Nokomis, 

Fell the beautiful Nokomis, 5 

She a wife but not a mother. 

She was sporting with her women. 
Swinging in a swing of grape-vines, 
When her rival, the rejected. 
Full of jealousy and hatred, lo 

Cut the leafy swing asunder, 
Ciit in twain the twisted grape-vines. 
And Nokomis fell atfrighted 
Downward through the evening twilight. 
On the Muskoday, the meadow, 15 

On the prairie full of blossoms. 
'^See! a star falls!" said the people, 
''From the sky a star is falling!" 

There among the ferns and mosses. 



H iawatha's Childhood 19 

There among the prairie lilies, 20 

On the Muskoday, the meadow, 

In the moonlight and the starlight, 

Fair Nokomis bore a daughter. 

And she called her name Wenonah, 

As the first-born of her daughters. 25 

And the daughter of Nokomis 

Grew up like the prairie lilies. 

Grew a tall and slender maiden. 

With the beauty of the moonlight. 

With the beauty of the starlight. 30 

And Nokomis warned her often, 
Saying oft, and oft repeating, 
*'0h, beware of Mudjekeewis, 
Of the West-AVind, Mudjekeewis; 
Listen not to what he tells you; ^^ 

Lie not down upon the meadow. 
Stoop not down among the lilies. 
Lest the West- Wind come and harm you ! ' ' 

But she heeded not the warning. 
Heeded not those words of wisdom. ^^ 

And the West-Wind came at evening, 
Walking lightly o'er the prairie. 
Whispering to the leaves and blossoms, 
Bending low the flowers and grasses. 
Pound the beautiful Wenonah, 45 

Lying there among the lilies, 
Wooed her with his words of sweetness. 
Wooed her with his soft caresses, 
Till she bore a son in sorrow, 
Bore a son of love and sorrow. so 

Thus was born my Hiawatha, 
Thus was bom the child of wonder; 
But the daughter of Nokomis, 
Hiawatha's gentle mother, 
In her anguish died deserted 55 



20 The Song of Hiawatha 

By the West-AVind, false and faithless, 
By the heartless Mudjekeewis. 

For her daughter, long and loudly 
A¥ailed and wept the sad Xokomis; 
' ' Oh that I were dead ! ' ' she murmured, ^^ 

"Oh that I were dead, as thou art! 
No more work, and no more weeping, 
Wahonowin ! AYahonowin ! " 

By the shores of Gitche Gumee, 
By the shining Big-Sea-Water, ^^ 

Stood the wigwam of Nokomis 
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis. 
Dark behind it rose the forest. 
Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees. 
Rose the firs with cones upon them; '^^ 

Bright before it beat the water. 
Beat the clear and sunny water, 
Beat the shining Big- Sea- Water. 

There the wrinkled old Nokomis 
Nursed the little Hiawatha, '^^ 

Rocked him in his linden cradle, 
Bedded soft in moss and rushes, 
Safely bound with reindeer sinews; 
Stilled his fretful wail by saying, 
' ' Hush ! the Naked Bear will hear thee ! " ^o 

Lulled him into slumber, singing, 
' ^ Ewa-yea ! my little owlet ! 
Who is this, that lights the wigwam! 
With his great eyes lights the wigwam! 
Ewa-yea ! my little owlet ! " ^^ 

Many things Nokomis taught him 
Of the stars that shine in heaven; 
Showed him Ishkoodah, the comet, 
Ishkoodah, with fiery tresses; 
Showed the Death-Dance of the spirits. 
Warriors with their plumes and war-clubs, 



90 



Hiawatha's Childhood 21 

Flaring far away to northward 
In the frosty nights of Winter; 
Showed the broad white road in heaven, 
Pathway of the ghosts, the shadows, ^^ 

Running straight across the heavens. 
Crowded with the ghosts, the shadows. 

At the door on summer evenings 
Sat the little Hiawatha; 

Heard the whispering of the pine-trees, ^^^ 

Heard the lapping of the waters, 
Sounds of music, words of wonder; 
' ^ Minne-wawa ! ' ' said the pine-trees. 
' ' Mudway-aushka ! ' ' said the water. 

Saw the fire-fly, Wah-way-taysee, ^^^ 

Flitting through the dusk of evening, 
With the twinkle of its candle 
Lighting up the brakes and bushes, 
And he sang the song of children, 
Sang the song Nokomis taught him: ^^^ 

' ' Wah-wah-taysee, little fire-fly, 
Little, flitting, white-fire insect. 
Little, dancing, white-fire creature, 
Light me with your little candle, 
Ere upon my bed I lay me, ii^ 

Ere in sleep I close my eyelids!" 

Saw the moon rise from the water 
Rippling, rounding from the water, 
Saw the flecks and shadows on it, 
Whispered, ''What is that, Nokomis T' 120 

And the good Nokomis answered: 
''Once a warrior, very angry, 
Seized his grandmother, and threw her 
Up into the sky at midnight; 
Right against the moon he threw her; 125 

'Tis her body that you see there." 

Saw the rainbow in the heaven. 



22 The Song of Hiawatha 

In the eastern sky, the rainbow, 

Whisi^ered, "What is that, Xokomis!'' 

And the good Nokomis answered: ^^o 

' ' 'Tis the heaven of flowers you see there ; 

All the wild-flowers of the forest, 

All the lilies of the prairie, 

A^Hien on earth they fade and perish. 

Blossom in that heaven above us." 135 

AVlien he heard the owls at midnight. 
Hooting, laughing in the forest, 
''What is that?" he cried in terror, 
"What is that," he said, " Nokomis?" 
And the good Nokomis answered: i^o 

' ' That is but the owl and owlet, 
Talking in their native language. 
Talking, scolding at each other." 

Then the little Hiawatha 
Learned of every bird its language, ^45 

Learned their names and all their secrets. 
How they built their nests in Summer, 
Where the}^ hid themselves in Winter, 
Talked with them whene'er he met them. 
Called them "Hiawatha's Chickens." i^o 

Of all beasts he learned the language. 
Learned their names and all their secrets, 
How the beavers built their lodges, 
Where the squirrels hid their acorns, 
How the reindeer ran so swiftly, ' i^^ 

Why the rabbit was so timid. 
Talked with them whene'er he met them. 
Called them "Hiawatha's Brothers." 

Then lagoo, the great boaster, 
He the marvelous story-teller, i^^ 

He the traveler and the talker. 
He the friend of old Nokomis, 
Made a bow for Hiawatha; . 



Hiawatha's Childhood 23 

Froin a branch of ash he made it, 
From an oak-bough made the arrows, ^^^ 

Tipped with flint and winged with feathers, 
And the cord he made of deer-skin. 

Then he said to Hiawatha : 
^'Go, my son, into the forest. 
Where the red deer herd together, ^"^^ 

Kill for us a famous roebuck, 
Kill for us a deer with antlers!" 

Forth into the forest straightway 
All alone walked Hiawatha 

Proudly, with his bow and arrows; i'^^ 

And the birds sang round him, o'er him 
"Do not shoot us, Hiawatha!" 
Sang the robin, the Opechee, 
Sang the bluebird, the Owaissa, 
' ' Do not shoot us, Hiawatha ! ' ' ^^^ 

Up the oak-tree, close beside him, 
Sprang the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
In and out among the branches, 
Coughed and chattered from the oak-tree. 
Laughed, and said between his laughing, 1^5 
"Do not shoot me, Hiawatha!" 

And the rabbit from his pathway 
Leaped aside, and at a distance 
Sat erect upon his haunches. 
Half in fear and half in frolic, 190 

Saying to the little hunter, 
"Do not shoot me, Hiawatha!" 

But he heeded not, nor heard them, 
For his thoughts were with the red deer; 
On their tracks his eyes were fastened, i^s 

Leading downward to the river, 
To the ford across the river, 
And as one in slumber walked he. 

Hidden in the alder-bushes, 



24 The Song of Hiawatha 

There he waited till the deer came, ^oo 

Till he saw two antlers lifted, 

Saw two eyes look from the thicket, 

Saw two nostrils point to windward, 

And a deer came down the pathway. 

Flecked with leafy light and shadow. 205 

And his heart within him fluttered. 

Trembled like the leaves above him. 

Like the birch-leaf palpitated. 

As the deer came down the pathway. 

Then, upon one knee uprising, 210 

Hiawatha aimed an arrow; 
Scarce a twig moved with his motion. 
Scarce a leaf was stirred or rustled. 
But the wary roebuck started. 
Stamped with all his hoofs together, 215 

Listened with one foot uplifted. 
Leaped as if to meet the arrow ; 
Ah! the singing, fatal arrow; 
Like a wasp it buzzed and stung him! 

Dead he lay there in the ^forest, 220 

By the ford across the river; 
Beat his timid heart no longer. 
But the heart of Hiawatha 
Throbbed and shouted and exulted. 
As he bore the red deer homeward, 225 

And lagoo and Nokomis 
Hailed his coming , with applauses. 

From the red deer's hide Nokomis 
Made a cloak for Hiawatha, 

From the red deer's flesh Nokomis 230 

Made a banquet in his honor. 
All the village came and feasted, 
All the guests praised Hiawatha, 
Called him Strong-Heart, Soan-ge-taha ! 
Called him Loon-Heart, Mahn-go-taysee ! 235 



Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis 25 

IV. 

HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS. 

Out of childhood into manliood 

Now had grown my Hiawatha, 

Skilled in all the craft of hunters, 

Learned in all the lore of old men. 

In all youthful sjDorts and pastimes, 5 

In all manly arts and labors. 

Swift of foot was Hiawatha; 
He could shoot an arrow from him. 
And run forward with such fleetness, 
That the arrow fell behind him! lO 

Strong of arm was Hiawatha ; 
He could shoot ten arrows upward, 
Shoot them with such strength and swiftness, 
That the tenth had left the bow-string 
Ere the first to earth had fallen! i^ 

He had mittens, Minjekahwun, 
Magic mittens made of deer-skin; 
When upon his hands he wore them, 
He could smite the rocks asunder, 
He could grind them into powder. 20 

He had moccasins enchanted, 
Magic moccasins of deer-skin; 
A^Hien he bound them round his ankles, 
AVhen upon his feet he tied them, 
At each stride a mile he measured ! 25 

Much he questioned old Nokomis 
Of his father Mudjekeewis; 
Learned from her the fatal secret 
Of the beauty of his mother. 
Of the falsehood of his father ; ^^ 

And his heart was hot within him, 



26 The Song of Hiawatha 

Like a living coal his heart was. 

Then he said to old Nokomis, 
'^I will go to Mudjekeewis, 

See how fares it with my father, ^5 

At the doorways of the West-AVind, 
At the portals of the Sunset!" 

From his lodge went Hiawatha, 
Dressed for travel, armed for hunting. 
Dressed in deer-skin shirt and leggings, ^^ 

Eichly wrought with quills and wampum 
On his head his eagle-feathers, 
Eound his waist his belt of wampum, 
In his hand his bow of ash-wood, 
Strung with sinews of the reindeer; ^^ 

In his quiver oaken arrows, 
Tipped with jasper, winged with feathers; 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, 
With his moccasins enchanted. 

Warning said the old Nokomis, so 

' ^ Go not forth, Hiawatha ! 
To the kingdom of the West-Wind, 
To the realms of Mudjekeewis, 
Lest he harm you with his magic. 
Lest he kill you with his cunning!" ^^ 

But the fearless Hiawatha 
Heeded not her woman's warning; 
Forth he strode into the forest, 
At each stride a mile he measured; 
Lurid seemed the sky above him, ^^ 

Lurid seemed the earth beneath him. 
Hot and close the air around him, 
Filled with smoke and fiery vapors, 
As of burning woods and prairies. 
For his heart was hot within him, ^^ 

Like a living coal his heart was. 

So he journeyed westward, westward. 



Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis 27 

Left the fleetest deer behind him, 

Left the antelope and bison; 

Crossed the rushing Esconaba, "^^ 

Crossed the mighty Mississippi, 

Passed the Mountains of the Prairie, 

Passed the land of Crows and Foxes, 

Passed the dwellings of the Blackfeet, 

Came unto the Rocky Mountains '^^ 

To the kingdom of the West- Wind, 

Where upon the gusty summits 

Sat the ancient Mudjekeewis, 

Ruler of the winds of heaven. 

Filled with awe was Hiawatha ^^ 

At the aspect of his father. 
On the air about him wildh^ 
Tossed and streamed his cloudy tresses. 
Gleamed like drifting snow his tresses, 
Glared like Ishkoodah, the comet, ^^ 

Like the star with fiery tresses. 

Filled with joy was Mudjekeewis 
When he looked on Hiawatha, 
Saw his youth rise up before him 
In the face of Hiawatha, ^^ 

Saw the beauty of Wenonah 
From the grave rise up before him. 

^'Welcome!'' said he, ^'Hiawatha, 
To tlie kingdom of the West-Wind! 
Long have I been waiting for you! ^^ 

Youth is lovely, age is lonely 
Youth is fiery, age is frosty; 
You bring back the days departed. 
You bring back my youth of ]iassion. 
And the beautiful Wenonah!" . loo 

Many days they talked together. 
Questioned, listened, waited, answered; 
Much the mighty Mudjekeewis 



28 The Song of Hiawatha 

Boasted of his ancient prowess, 

Of his perilous adventures, ^^^ 

His indomitable courage, 

His invulnerable body. 

Patiently sat Hiawatha, 
Listening to his father's boasting; 
With a smile he sat and listened, ^^^ 

Uttered neither threat nor menace, 
Neither word nor look betrayed him. 
But his heart was hot within him, 
Ijike a living coal his heart was. 

Then he said, "0 Mudjekeewis, i^^ 

Is there nothing that can harm you! 
Nothing that you are afraid of?'' 
And the mighty Mudjekeewis, 
Grand and gracious in his boasting. 
Answered, saying, ^ ' There is- nothing, 120 

Nothing but the black rock yonder, 
Nothing but the fatal AVawbeek!" 

And he looked at Hiawatha 
With a wise look and benignant, 
With a countenance paternal, ^^^ 

Lioioked with pride upon the beauty 
Of his tall and graceful figure. 
Saying, ' ^ my Hiawatha ! 
Is there anything can harm you? 
Anything you are afraid of?" ^^^ 

But the wary Hiawatha 
Paused awhile, as if uncertain. 
Held his peace, as if resolving. 
And then answered '^ There is nothing. 
Nothing but the bulrush yonder, ^^^ 

Nothing but the great Apukwa ! ' ' 

And as Mudjekeewis, rising. 
Stretched his hand to pluck the bulrush, 
Hiawatha cried in terror, 



Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis 29 

Cried in well-dissembled terror, 140 

^'Kago! kago! do not touch it!" 
*^Ab, kaween!" said Mudjekeewis, 
*^No indeed, I will not touch it!" 

Then they talked of other matters; 
First of Hiawatha's brothers. 145 

First of Wabun, of the East-Wind, 
Of the South-Wind, Shawondasee, 
Of the North, Kabibonokka ; 
Then of Hiawatha's mother, 
Of the beautiful Wenonah, 150 

Of her birth upon the meadow. 
Of her. death, as old Nokomis 
Had remembered and related. 

And he cried, ''0 .Mudjekeewis, 
It was you who killed Wenonah, ^^^ 

Took her young life and her beauty. 
Broke the Lily of tht Prairie, 
Trampled it beneath your footsteps ; 
You confess it! you confess it!" 
And the mighty Mudjekeewis i^o 

Tossed upon the wind his tresses, 
Bowed his hoary head in anguish, 
With a silent nod assented. 

Then up started Hiawatha, 
And with threatening look and gesture ^^^ 

Laid his hand upon the black ro'ck 
On the fatal Wawbeek laid it, 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, 
Rent the jutting crag asunder. 
Smote and crushed it into fragments, ^'^^ 

Hurled them madly at his father, 
The remorseful Mudjekeewis, 
For his heart was hot within him, 
Like a living coal his heart was. 

But the ruler of the West- Wind 1^5 



30 The Song of Hiawatha 

Blew the fragments backward from him, 

With the breathing of his nostrils, 

With the tempest of his anger, 

Blew them back at his assailant; 

Seized the bulrush, the Apukwa, i^^ 

Dragged it with its roots and fibres 

From the margin of the meadow, 

From its ooze, the giant buhnish; 

Long and loud laughed Hiawatha ! 

Then began the deadly conflict, 185 

Hand to hand among the mountains; 
From his eyry screamed the eagle. 
The Keneu, the great war-eagle. 
Sat upon the crags around them. 
Wheeling flapped his wings above them. i^^ 

Like a tall tree in the tempest 
Bemt and lashed the giant bulrush; 
And in masses huge and heavy 
Orashing fell the fatal Wawbeek; . 
Till the earth shook with the tumult i^s 

And confusion of the battle, 
And the air was full of shoutings. 
And the thunder of the mountains, 
Starting, answered, ^ ' Baim-wawa ! " 

Back retreated Mudjekeewis, 200 

Rushing westward o'er the mountains, 
Stumbling westward down the mountains. 
Three whole days retreated fighting, 
Still pursued by Hiawatha 

To the doorways of the West-Wind, 205 

To the portals of the Sunset, 
To the earth's remotest border. 
Where into the empty spaces 
Sinks the sun, as a flamingo 

Drops into her nest at nightfall, 210 

In the melanoholy marshes. 



Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis 31 

**Hold!'' at length cried Mudjekeewis, 

*^Hold, my son, my Hiawatha! 

'Tis impossible to kill me, 

For you cannot kill the immortal. 215 

I have put you to this trial, 

But to know and prove your courage; 

Now receive the prize of valor! 

^*Go back to your home and people. 
Live among them, toil among them, 220 

Cleanse the earth from all that liarms it, 
Clear the fishing-grounds and rivers, 
Slay all monsters and magicians. 
All the Wendigoes, the giants, 
All the serpents, the Kenabeeks, 225 

As I slew the Mishe-Mokwa, 
Slew the Great Bear of the mountains. 

^'And at last when Death draws near you. 
When the awful eyes of Pauguk 
Glare upon you in the darkness, 230 

I will share my kingdom with you, 
Ruler shall you be thenceforward 
Of the Northwest- Wind, Keewaydin, 
Of the home-wind, the Keewaydin." 

Thus was fought that famous battle 235 

In the dreadful days of Shah-shah, 
In the days long since departed, 
In the kingdom of the West-W^ind. 
Still the hunter sees its traces 
Scattered far o'er hill and valley; 240 

Sees the giant bulrush growing 
By the ponds and water-courses. 
Sees the masses of the Wawbeek 
Lying still in every valley. 

Homeward now went Hiawatha ; 245 

Pleasant was the landscape round him, 
Pleasant was the air above him, 



32 The Song of Hiawatha 

For the bitterness of anger 

Had departed wholly from him, 

From his brain the thought of vengeance, ^^^ 

From his heart the burning fever. 

Only once his pace he slackened, 
Only once he paused or halted, 
Paused to purchase heads of arrows 
Of the ancient Arrow-maker, 255 

In the land of the Dacotahs, 
Where the Falls of Minnehaha 
Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, 
Laugh and leap into the valley. 

There the ancient Arrow-maker ^60 

Made his arrow-heads of sandstone, 
Arrow-heads of chalcedony, 
Arrow-heads of flint and jasper, 
Smoothed and sharpened at the edges. 
Hard and polished, keen and costly. 265 

With him dwelt his dark-eyed daughter. 
Wayward as the Minnehaha, 
With her moods of shade and sunshine, 
Eyes that smiled and frowned alternate. 
Feet as rapid as the river, 270 

Tresses flowing like the water. 
And as musical a laughter; 
And he named her from the river, 
Form the water-fall he named her, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water. 275 

Was it then for heads of arrows. 
Arrow-heads of chalcedony, 
Arrow-heads of flint and jasper. 
That my Hiawatha halted 
In the land of the Dacotahs? 280 

Was it not to see the maiden, 
See the face of Laughing Water 
Peeping from behind the curtain, 



Hiawatha's Fasting 33 

Hear the rustling of her garments 

Prom behind the waving curtain, 285 

As one sees the Minnehaha 

Gleaming, glancing through the branches, 

As one hears the Laughing Water 

From behind its screen of branches! 

Who shall say what thoughts and visions 290 
Fill the fiery brains of vouns; men? 
Who shall say what dreams of beauty 
Filled the heart of Hiawatha! 
All he told to old Nokomis, 
When he reached the lodge at sunset, 295 

Was the meeting with his father. 
Was his fight with Mudjekeewis; 
Not a word he said of arrows, 
Not a word of Laughing Water ! 

V. 

Hiawatha's fasting. 

You shall hear how Hiawatha 

Prayed and fasted in the forest. 

Not for greater skill in hunting, 

Not for greater craft in fishing, 

Not for triumphs in the battle 5 

And renown among the warriors. 

But for profit of the people, 

For advantage of the nations. 

First he built a lodge for fasting. 
Built a wigwam in the forest, 10 

By the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
In the blithe and pleasant Spring-time, 
In the Moon of Leaves he built it. 
And, with dreams and visions many. 
Seven whole days and nights he fasted. ^^ 



20 



34 The Song of Hiawatha 

On the first day of his fasting 
Through the leafy woods he wandered; 
Saw the deer start from the thicket, 
Saw the rabbit in his burrow, 
Heard the pheasant, Bena, drumming, 
Heard the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Eattling in his hoard of acorns, 
Saw the pigeon, the Omeme, 
Building nests among the pine-trees. 
And in flocks the wild goose, Wawa, ^5 

Flying to the fen-lands northward, 
Whirring, wailing far above him. 
^'Master of Life!'' he cried, desponding, 
^'Must our lives depend on these things?" 

On the next day of his fasting ^^ 

By the river's brink he wandered. 
Through the Muskoday, the meadow, 
Saw the wild rice, Mahnomonee, 
Saw the blueberry, Meenahga, 
And the strawberry, Odahmin, • ^s 

And the gooseberrj^, Shahbomin, 
And the grape-vine, the Bemahgut, 
Trailing o'er the alder-branches, 
Filling all the air with fragrance! 
^^ Master of Life!" he cried, desponding, 4o 

^'Must our lives depend on these things?" 

On the third day of his fasting 
By the lake he sat and pondered, 
By the still, transparent water; 
Saw the sturgeon, Nahma, leaping, ^5 

Scattering drops like beads of wampum. 
Saw the yellow perch, the Sahwa, 
Like a sunbeam in the water, 
Saw the pike, the Maskenozha, 
And the herring, Okahahwis, ^^ 

And the Shawgashee, the craw-fish! 



Hiawatha's Fasting 35 

^^ Master of Life!'' he cried, desponding, 
*^Must our lives depend on these things?" 

On the fourth day of his fasting 
In his lodge he lay exhausted; ^^ 

From his couch of leaves and branches 
Gazing with half-open eyelids. 
Full of shadowy dreams and visions, 
On the dizzy, swimming landscape, 
On the gleaming of the water, ^^ 

On the splendor of the sunset. 

And he saw a youth approaching. 
Dressed in garments green and yellow. 
Coming through the purple twilight, 
Through the splendor of the sunset; ^^ 

Plumes of green bent o'er his forehead. 
And his hair was soft and golden. 

Standing at the open doorway. 
Long he looked at Hiawatha, 
Looked with pity and compassion "^^ 

On his wasted forai and features, 
And, in accents like the sighing 
Of the South- Wind in the tree-tops. 
Said he, **0 my Hiawatha! 

All your prayers are heard in heaven, '^^ 

For you pray not like the others ; 
Not for greater skill in hunting. 
Not for greater craft in fishing, 
Not for triumph in the battle, 
Nor renown among the warriors, 80 

But for profit of the people. 
For advantage of the nations. 

^<From the Master of Life descending, 
T, the friend of man, Mondamin, 
Oome to warn you and instruct you, 85 

How by struggle and by labor 
You shall gain what you have prayed for. 



36 The Song of Hiawatha 

liise up from your bed of branches, 
Rise, youth, and wrestle with me!" 

Faint with famine, Hiawatha ^^ 

Started from his bed of branches, 
From the twilight of his wigwam 
Forth into the flush of sunset 
Came, and wrestled with Mondaminj 
At his touch he felt new courage ^^ 

Throbbing in his brain and bosom, 
Felt new life and hope and vigor 
Run through every nerve and fibre. 

So they wrestled there together 
In the glory of the sunset, ^^^ 

And the more they strove and struggled. 
Stronger still grew Hiawatha; 
Till the darkness fell around them. 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From her nest among the pine-trees, ^^^ 

Gave a cry of lamentation. 
Gave a scream of pain and famine. 

' ' 'Tis enough ! ' ' then said Mondamin, 
Smiling upon Hiawatha, 

"But to-morrow when the sun sets, i^^ 

I will come again to try you." 
And he vanished, and was seen not; 
Whether sinking as the rain sinks, 
AYliether rising as the mists rise, 
Hiawatha saw not, knew not, ii^ 

Only saw that he had vanished, 
Leaving him alone and fainting. 
With the misty lake below him, 
And the reeling stars above him. 

On the morrow and the next day, 120 

AVhen the sun through heaven descending, 
Like a red and burning cinder 
From the hearth of the Great Spirit, 



Hiawatha's Fasting 37 

Fell into the western waters, 

Came Mondamin for the trial, ^^^ 

For the strife with Hiawatha ; 

Game as silent as the dew comes. 

From the empty air appearing, 

Into empty air returning. 

Taking shape when earth it touches i^^ 

But invisible to all men 

In its coming and its going. 

Thrice they wrestled there together 
In the glory of the sunset, 

Till the darkness fell around them, i^^ 

Till the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From her nest among the pine-trees, 
Uttered her loud cry of famine, 
And Mondamin paused to listen. 

Tall and beautiful he stood there ^^o 

In his garments green and yellow; 
To and fro his plumes above him 
Waved and nodded with his breathing, 
And the sweat of the encounter 
Stood like, drops of dew uj^on him. 1^5 

And he cried, ' ^ O Hiawatha ! 
Bravely have yoiu wrestled with me. 
Thrice have wrestled stoutly with me, 
And the Master of Life, who sees us. 
He will give to you the triumph ! ' ' i^o 

Then he smiled and said: "To-morrow 
Is the last day of your conflict. 
Is the last day of your fasting. 
You will conquer and overcome me; 
Make a bed for me to lie in, i^^ 

Where the rain may fall upon me. 
Where the sun may come and warm me ; 
Strip these garments, green and yellow, 
Strip this nodding plumage from me. 



38 The Song of Hiawatha 

Lay me in the earth and make it i^o 

Soft and loose and light above me. 

''Let no hand disturb my slumber, 
Let no weed nor worm molest me, 
Let not Kahgaligee, the raven, 
Come to haunt me and molest me, i^s 

Only come yourself to watch me. 
Till I wake, and start, and quicken, 
Till I leap into the sunshine." 

And thus saying, he departed; 
Peacefully slept Hiawatha, i^o 

But he heard the Wawonaissa, 
Heard the whippoorwill complaining. 
Perched upon his lonely wigwam ; 
Heard the rushing Sebowisha, 
Heard the rivulet rippling near him, ^"^^ 

Talking to the darksome forest; 
Heard the sighing of the branches, 
As they lifted and subsided 
At the passing of the night-wind, 
Heard them, as one hears in slumber i^^ 

Far-off murmurs, dreamy whispers: 
Peacefully slept Hiawatha. 

On the morrow came Nokomis, 
On the seventh day of his fasting, 
Came with food for Hiawatha ^^^ 

Came imploring and bewailing, 
Lest his hunger should overcome him. 
Lest his fasting should be fatal. 

But he tasted not, and touched not. 
Only said to her, "Nokomis, '^^^ 

Wait until the sun is setting, 
Till the darkness falls around us, 
Till the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Crying from the desolate marshes. 
Tells us that the day is ended." . i^^ 



Hiawatha*s Fasting 39 

Homeward weeping went Nokomis, 
Sorrowing for her Hiawatha 
Fearing lest his strength should fail him, 
Lest his fasting should be fatal. 
He meanwhile sat weary waiting ^^^ 

For the coming of Mondamin 
Till the shadows, pointing eastward, 
Lengthened over field and forest. 
Till the sun dropped from the heaven. 
Floating on the waters westward, 205 

As a red leaf in the Autumn 
Falls and floats upon the water. 
Falls and sinks into its bosom. 

And behold! the young Mondamin, 
With his soft and shining tresses, 210 

With his garments green and yellow. 
With his long and glossy plumage, 
Stood and beckoned at the doorway. 
And as one in slumber walking. 
Pale and haggard, but undaunted, 215 

From the wigwam Hiawatha 
Came and wrestled with Mondamin. 

Round about him spun the landscape. 
Sky and forest reeled together, 
And his strong heart leaped within him, 220 

As the sturgeon leaps and struggles 
In a net to break its meshes. 
Like a ring of fire around him 
Blazed and flared the red horizon, 
And a hundred suns seemed looking * 225 

At the combat of the wrestlers. 

Suddenly upon the greensward 
All alone stood Hiawatha, 
Panting with his wild exertion. 
Palpitating with the struggle; 230 

And before him, breathless, lifeless, 



40 The Song of Hiawatha 

Lay the youth, with hair dishevelled, 
Plumage torn, and garments tattered, 
Dead he lay there in the sunset. 

And victorious Hiawatha 235 

Made the grave as he commanded, 
Stripped the garments from Mondamin, 
Stripped his tattered plumage from him, 
Laid him in the earth and made it 
Soft and loose and light above him; 240 

And the heron the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From the melancholy moorlands. 
Gave a cry of lamentation. 
Gave a cry of pain and anguish! 

Homeward then went Hiawatha ^45 

To the lodge of old Nokomis, 
And the seven days of his fasting- 
Were accomplished and completed. 
But the place was not forgotten 
AVhere he wrestled with Mondamin ; 250 

Nor forgotten nor neglected 
Was the grave where lay Mondamin, 
Sleeping in the rain and sunshine, 
AVhere his scattered plumes and garments 
Faded in the rain and sunshine. 255 

Day by day did Hiawatha 
Go to wait and watch beside it; 
Kept the dark mould soft above it. 
Kept it clean from weeds and insects, 
Drove away, with scoffs and shoutings 260 

Kahgahgee, the king of ravens. 

Till at length a small green feather 
From the earth shot slowly upward, 
Then another and another, 

And before the Summer ended ^65 

Stood the maize in all its beauty. 
With its shining robes about it. 



Hiawatha's Friends 41 

And its long, soft, yellow tresses; 

And in rapture Hiawatha 

Cried aloud, ''It is Mondamin! 270 

Yes, the friend of man, Mondamin!" 

Then he called to old Xokomis 
And lagoo, the great boaster, 
Showed them where the maize was growing, 
Told them of his wondrous vision, 275 

Of his wrestling and his triumph 
Of this new gift to the nations. 
Which should be their food forever. 

And still later, when the Autumn 
Changed the long, green leaves to yellow, ^80 

And the soft and juicy kernels 
Grew like wampum hard and yellow. 
Then the ripened ears he gathered. 
Stripped the withered husks from off them, 
As he once had stripped the wrestler, 285 

Gave the first Feast of Mondamin, 
And made known unto the people 
This new gift of the Great Spirit. 



VI. 



Hiawatha's friends. 



Two good friends had Hiawatha, 

Singled out from all the others, 

Bound to him in closest union 

And to whom he gave the rigth hand 

Of his heart, in joy and sorrow; 

Chibiabos, the musician. 

And the very strong man, Kwasind. 

Straight between them ran the pathway, 
Never grew the grass upon it; 



42 The Song of Hiawatha 

Singing birds, that utter falsehoods, ^^ 

Story-tellers, mischief-makers, 

Pound no eager ear to listen. 

Could not breed ill-will between them, 

For they kept each other's counsel. 

Spake with naked hearts together, ^^ 

Pondering much and much contriving 

How the tribes of men might prosper. 

Most beloved by Hiawatha 
Was the gentle Chibiabos, 

He the best of all musicians, 20 

He the sweetest of all singers. 
Beautiful and childlike was he. 
Brave as man is, soft as woman, 
Pliant as a wand of willow. 
Stately as a deer with antlers. 25 

When he sang, the village listened ; 
All the warriors gathered round him. 
All the women came to hear him; 
Now he stirred their souls to passion. 
Now he melted them to pity. ^^ 

From the hollow reeds he fashioned 
Flutes so musical and mellow. 
That the brook, the Sebowisha, 
Ceased to murmur in the woodland. 
That the wood-birds ceased from singing, 35 

And the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Ceased his chatter in the oak-tree. 
And the rabbit, the Wabasso, 
Sat upright to look and listen. 

Yes, the brook, the Sebowisha, ^^ 

Pausing, said, ^'0 Chibiabos, 
Teach my waves to flow in music, 
Softly as your words in singing!" 

Yes, the bluebird, the Owaissa, 
Envious, said, ^'0 Chibiabos, 45 



Hiawatha's Friends 43 

Teach me tones as wild and wayward, 
Teach me songs as full of frenzy!" 

Yes, the robin, the Opechee, 
Joyous, said, ^'0 Chibiabos, 

Teach me tones as sweet and tender, ^^ 

Teach me songs as full of gladness!" 

And the whippoorwill, Wawonaissa, 
Sobbing, said, "0 Chibiabos, 
Teach me tones as melancholy. 
Teach me songs as full of sadness!" ^^ 

All the many sounds of nature 
Borrowed sweetness from his singing; 
All the hearts of men were softened 
By the pathos of his music; 

For he sang of peace and freedom, ^^ 

Sang of beauty, love, and longing; 
Sang of death, and life undying 
In the Islands of the Blessed, 
In the kingdom of Ponemah, 
In the land of the Hereafter. 65 

Very dear to Hiawatha 
Was the gentle Chibiabos, 
He the best of all musicians. 
He the sweetest of all singers; 
For his gentleness he loved him, "^o 

And the magic of his singing. 

Dear, too, unto Hiawatha 
Was the very strong man, Kwasind, 
He the strongest of all mortals. 
He the mightiest among many ; '^^ 

For his very strength he loved him, 
For his strength allied to goodness. 

Idle in his youth was Kwasind, 
Very listless, dull, and dreamy, 
Never played with other children. 
Never fished and, never hunted. 



80 



95 



4^ The Song of Hiawatha 

Not like other children was he; 

But they saw that much he fasted, 

Much his Manito entreated, 

Much besought his Guardian Spirit. 85 

"Lazy Kw^asind!" said his mother, 
' ' In my work you never help me ! 
In the Sunnner you are roaming 
Idly in the fields and forests; 
In the Winter you are cowering ^o 

O'er the firebrands in the wigwam! 
In the coldest days of Winter 
I must break the ice for fishing; 
With my nets you never help me! 
At the door my nets are hanging, 
Dripping, freezing with the water; 
Go and wring them Yenadizze! 
Go and dry them in the sunshine ! ' ' 

Slowly, from the ashes, Kwasind 
Eose, but made no angry answer; 
From the lodge went forth in silence, 
Took the nets, that hung together, 
Dripping, freezing at the doorway; 
Like a w^isp of straw he wrung them, 
Like a wisp of straw he broke them, i^^ 

Could not wring them without breaking, 
Such the strength was in his fingers. 

"Lazy Kwasind!" said his father, 
"In the hunt you never help me; 
Every bow you touch is broken, n^ 

Snapped asunder every arrow; 
Yet come with me to the forest, 
You shall bring the hunting homeward." 

Down a narrow path they wandered, 
Where a brooklet led them onward, us 

Where the trail of deer and bison 
Marked the soft mud on the margin, 



100 



Hiawatha's Friends 45 

Till they found all further passage 

Shut against them, barred securely 

By the trunks of trees uprooted, 120 

Lying lengthwise, lying crosswise. 

And forbidding further passage. 

''We must go back," said the old man, 
''O'er these logs we cannot clamber; 
Not a woodchuck could get through them, 125 
Not a squirrel clamber o'er them!" 
And straightway his pipe he lighted, 
And sat down to smoke and ponder. 
But before his pipe was finished, 
Lo! the path was cleared before him: i^^ 

All the trunks had Kwasind lifted, 
To the right hand, to the left hand. 
Shot the pine-trees swift as arrows. 
Hurled the cedars light as lances. 

"Lazy Kwasind!" said the young men, 1^5 

As they sported in the meadow; 
"Why stand idly looking at us. 
Leaning on the rock behind you! 
Come and wrestle with the others, 
Let us pitch the quoit together!" i^o 

Lazy Kwasind made no answer. 
To their challenge made no answer. 
Only rose, and, slowly turning, 
Seized the huge rock in his fingers. 
Tore it from its deep foundation, 145 

Poised it in the air a moment, 
Pitched it sheer into the river. 
Sheer into the swift Pauwating, 
Where it still is seen in Summer. 

Once as down that foaming river, ^^^ 

Down the rapids of Pauwating, 
Kwasind sailed with his companions, 
In the stream he saw a beaver. 



46 The Song of Hiawatha 

Saw Alimeck, the King of Beavers, 

Struggling with the rushing currents, ^^^ 

Rising, sinking in the water. 

Without speaking, without pausing, 
Kwasind leaped into the river. 
Plunged beneath the bubbling surface. 
Through the whirlpools chased the beaver, ^^^ 
Followed him along the islands. 
Stayed so long beneath the water, 
That his terrified companions 
Cried, "Alas! good-by to Kwasind! 
We shall never more see Kwasind!" ^^^ 

But he reappeared triumphant, 
And ujjon his shining shoulders 
Brought the beaver, dead and dripping. 
Brought the King of all the Beavers. 

And these two, as I have told you, i"^^ 

Were the friends of Hiawatha, 
Chibiabos, the musician. 
And the very strong man, Kwasind. 
Long they lived in peace together. 
Spake with naked hearts together, 1^5 

Pondering much and much contriving 
How the tribes of men might prosper. 



VII. 



Hiawatha's sailing. 



"Give me of your bark, Birch-Tree! 
Of your yellow bark, Birch-Tree! 
Growing by the rushing river, 
Tall and stately in the valley! 
I a light canoe will build me. 
Build a swift Cheemaun for sailing. 
That shall float upon the river, 



Hiawatha's Sailing 47 

Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, 
Like a yellow water-lily! 

*^Lay aside your cloak, Birch-Tree! ^^ 

Lay aside your wliite-skin wrapper, 
For the Summer-time is coming, 
And the sun is warm in heaven, 
And you need no white-skin wrapper!" 

Thus aloud cried Hiawatha ^^ 

In the solitary forest. 
By the rushing Taquamenaw, 
When the birds were singing gayly. 
In the Moon of Leaves were singing. 
And the sun, from sleep awaking, 20 

Started up and said, "Behold me! 
Gheezis, tlie great Sun, behold me!" 

And the tree with all its branches 
Rustled in the breeze of morning. 
Saying, with a sigh of patience, 25 

^ ^ Take my cloak, Hiawatha ! ' ' 

With his knife the tree he girdled; 
Just beneath its lowest branches. 
Just above the roots, he cut it. 
Till the sap came oozing outward; ^^ 

Down the trunk from top to bottom, 
Sheer he cleft the bark asunder, 
With a wooden wedge he raised it, 
Stripped it from the trunk unbroken. 

**Give me of your boughs, Cedar! ^5 

Of your strong and pliant branches. 
My canoe to make more steady. 
Make more strong and firm beneath me!" 

Through the summit of the Cedar 
Went a sound, a ciy of horror, 40 

Went a murmur of resistance; 
But it whispered, bending downward, 
"Take my boughs, Hiawatha!" 



48 The Song of Hiawatha 

Down he hewed the boughs of cedar, 
Shaped them straightway to a framework, ^^ 

Like two bows he formed and shaped them, 
Like two bended bows together. 

^^Give me of your roots, Tamarack! 
Of your fibrous roots, Larch-Tree! 
My canoe to bind together, 50 

So to bind the ends togetlier 
That the water may not enter, 
That the river may not wet me ! ' ' 

And the Larch, with all its fibres, 
Shivered in the air of morning, , ^^ 

Touched his forehead with its tassels. 
Said, with one long sigh of sorrow, 
''Take them all, Hiawatha!" 

From the earth he tore the fibres, 
Tore the tough roots of the Larch-Tree, ^^ 

Closely sewed the bark together, 
Bound it closely to the framework. 

''Give me of your balm, Fir-Tree! 
Of your balsam and your resin. 
So to close the seams together ^^ 

That the water may not enter. 
That the river may not wet me!" 

And the Fir- Tree, tall and sombre, 
Sobbed through all its robes of darkness. 
Rattled like a shore with pebbles, '^^ 

Answered wailing, answered weeping, 
' ' Take my balm, Hiawatha ! ' ' 

And he took the tears of balsam. 
Took the resin of the Fir-Tree, 
Smeared therewith each seam and fissure, '^^ 

Made each crevice safe from water. 

*'Give me of your quills, Hedgehog! 
All your quills, O Kagh, the Hedgehog! 
I will make a necklace of them, 



Hiawatha's Sailing 49 

Make a girdle for my beauty, ^^ 

And two stars to deck her bosom ! ' ' 

From a hollow tree the Hedgehog 
With his sleepy eyes looked at him, 
Shot his shining quills, like arrows, 
Saying, with a drowsy murmur, ^^ 

Through the tangle of his whiskers, 
' ' Take my quills, Hiawatha ! ' ' 

From the ground the quills he gathered. 
All the little shining arrows. 
Stained them red and blue and yellow, ^^ 

With the juice of roots and berries; 
Into his canoe he wrought them, 
Round its waist a shining girdle, 
Eound its bows a gleaming necklace. 
On its breast two stars resplendent. ^^ 

Thus the Birch Canoe was builded 
In the valley, by the river, 
In the bosom of the forest ; 
And the forest's life was in it, 
All its mystery and its magic, i^^ 

All the lightness of the birch-tree. 
All the toughness of the cedar, 
All the larch's supple sinews; 
And it floated on the river, 

Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, i^^ 

Like a yellow water-lily. 

Paddles none had Hiawatha, 
Paddles none he had or needed. 
For his thoughts as paddles served him. 
And his wishes served to guide him; ^^'^ 

Swift or slow at will he glided 
Veered to right or left at pleasure. 

Tlien he called aloud to Kwasind, 
To his friend, the strong man. Kwasind, 
Saying, ''Help me clear this river ii^ 



50 The Song of Hiawatha 

Of its sunken logs and sand-bars." 

Straight into the river Kwasind 
Plunged as if he were an otter, 
Dived as if he were a beaver, 
Stood up to his waist in water, ^^o 

To his arm-pits in the river. 
Swam and shouted in the river, 
Tugged at sunken logs and branches, 
With his hands he scooped the sand-bars, 
With his feet the ooze and tangle. ^^s 

And thus sailed my Hiawatha 
Down the rushing Taquamenaw, 
Sailed through all its bends and windings, 
Sailed through all its deeps and shallows, 
While his friend, the strong man, Kwasind, ^^^ 
Swam the deeps, the shallows waded. 

Up and down the river went they. 
In and out among its islands, 
Cleared its bed of root and sand-bar. 
Dragged the dead trees from its channel, ^^^ 

Made its passage safe and certain, 
Made a pathway for the people. 
From its springs among the mountains, 
To the waters of Pauwating, 
To the bay of Taquamenaw. ^^^ 

VIII. 



Hiawatha's fishing. 



Forth upon the Gitche Gumee, 
On the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
With his fishing-line of cedar. 
Of the twisted bark of cedar, 
Forth to catch the sturgeon Nahma, 
Mishe-Nahma, King of Fishes 



Hiawatha's Fishing 51 

In his birch canoe exulting 
All alone went Hiawatha. 

Through the clear, transparent water 
He could see the fishes swinuning lo 

Far down in the depths below him; 
See the yellow perch, the Sahwa, 
Like a sunbeam in the water, 
See the Shawgashee, the craw-fish, 
Like a spider on the bottom, i^ 

On the white and sandy bottom. 

At the stern sat Hiawatha, 
With his fishing-line of cedar; 
In his plumes the breeze of morning 
Played as in the hemlock branches; 20 

On the bows, with tail erected. 
Sat the squirrel, Adjidaumo ; 
In his fur the breeze of morning 
Played as in the prairie grasses. 

On the white sand of the bottom ^5 

Lay the monster Mishe-Nahma, 
Lay the sturgeon. King of Fishes ; 
Through his gills he breathed the water. 
With his fins he fanned and winnowed, 
With his tail he swept the sand-floor. 30 

There he lay in all his armor; 
On each side a shield to guard him, 
Plates of bone upon his forehead, 
Down his sides and back and shoulders 
Plates of bone with spine projecting, 35 

Painted was he with his war-paints 
Stripes of yellow, red and azure, 
Spots of brown and spots of sable; 
And he lay there on the bottom. 
Fanning with his fins of purple, 40 

As above him Hiawatha 
In his birch canoe came sailing. 



52 The Song of Hiawatha 

With his fishing-line of cedar. 

''Take my bait!" cried Hiawatha, 
Down into the depths beneath him, ^^ 

' ' Take my bait, Sturgeon, Xalima ! 
Come up from below the water, 
Let us see which is the stronger ! " 
And he dropped his line of cedar 
Through the clear, transparent water, ^^ 

Waited vainly for an answer, 
Long sat waiting for an answer. 
And repeating loud and louder, 
''Take my bait, King of Fishes!" 

Quiet lay the sturgeon, Xahma, 55 

Fanning slowly in the water, 
Looking up at Hiawatha, 
Listening to his call and clamor. 
His unnecessary tumult, 

Till he wearied of the shouting; 60 

And he said to the Kenozha, 
To the pike, the Maskenozha, 
"Take the bait of this rude fellow. 
Break the line of Hiawatha ! ' ' 

In his fingers Hiawatha ^5 

Felt the loose line jerk and tighten; 
As he drew it in, it tugged so. 
That the birch canoe stood endwise, 
Like a birch log in the water, 
With the squirrel, Adjidaumo, "^o 

Perched and frisking on the summit. 

Full of scorn was Hiawatha 
When he saw the fish rise upward. 
Saw the pike, the Maskenozha, 
Coming nearer, nearer to him, 75 

And he shouted through the water, 
" Esa ! esa ! shame upon you ! 
You are but the pike^ Kenozha, 



Hiawatha's Fishing 53 

You are uot the fish 1 wanted, 

You are not the King of Fislies!" ^o 

lieeling downward to tlie bottom 
Sank the i^ike in great confusion, 
And the mighty sturgeon, Xahma, 
Said to Ugudwash, the sun-fish, 
To the bream, with scales of crimson, 85 

^'Take the bait of this great boaster. 
Break the line of Hiawatha!" 

Slowly upward, wavering, gleaming, 
Eose the Ugudwash, the sun-fish, 
Seized the line of Hiawatha, 90 

Swung with all his weight upon it, 
Made a whirlpool in the w^ater, 
Whirled the birch canoe in circles, 
Eound and round in gurgling eddies. 
Till the circles in the water ^^ 

Reached the far-off sandy beaches. 
Till the water-flags and rushes 
Nodded on the distant margins. 

But when Hiawatha saw him 
Slowly rising through the water, i^o 

Lifting up his disk refulgent, 
Loud he shouted in derision, 
^^Esa! esa! shame upon you! 
You are Ugudwash, the sun-fish, 
You are not the fish I wanted, i^s 

You are not the King of Fishes ! " 

Slowly downward, wavering, gleaming, 
Sank the Ugudwash, the sun-fish, 
And again the sturgeon Nahma, 
Heard the shout of Hiawatha, no 

Heard his challenge of defiance. 
The unnecessary tumult, 
Einging far across the water. 

From the white sand of the bottom 



54 The Song of Hiawatha 

Up lie rose with angry gesture, us 

Quivering in each nerve and fibre, 

Clashing all his i>lates of annor, 

Gleaming bright with all his war-paint; 

In his wrath he darted upward, 

Flashing leaped into the sunshine, 120 

Opened his great jaws, and swallowed 

Both canoe and Hiawatha. 

Down into that darksome cavern 
Plunged the headlong Hiawatha, 
As a log on some black river 125 

Shoots and plunges down the rapids. 
Found himself in utter darkness, 
Groped about in helpless wonder, 
Till he felt a great heart beating. 
Throbbing in that utter darkness. i^o 

And he smote it in his anger, 
With his fist, the heart of Nahma, 
Felt the mighty King of Fishes 
Shudder through each nerve and fibre, 
Heard the water gurgle round him 1^5 

As he leaped and staggered through it. 
Sick at heart, and faint and weary. 

Crosswise then did Hiawatha 
Drag his birch-canoe for safety, 
Lest from out the jaws of Nahma, i^o 

In the turmoil and confusion, 
Forth he might be hurled and perish. 
And the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Frisked and chattered very gayly. 
Toiled and tugged with Hiawatha 145 

Till he grated on the pebbles. 

Then said Hiawatha to him, 
^^O my little friend, the squirrel, 
Bravely have you toiled to help me; 
Take the thanks of Hiawatha. 150 



Hiawatha's Fishing 55 

x\nd the name which noAV he gives you; 
For hereafter and forever 
Boys shall call you Adjidaumo, 
Tail-in-air the boys shall call you!^' 

And again the sturgeon, Nahma, ^^^ 

Gasped and quivered in the water, 
Then was still, and drifted landward 
Till he grated on the pebbles, 
Till the listening Hiawatha 

Heard him grate upon the margin, ^^^ 

Felt him strand upon the pebbles. 
Knew that Nahma, King of Fishes, 
Lay there dead upon the -margin. 

Then he heard a clang and flapping. 
As of many wings assembling, i^^ 

Heard a screaming and confusion, 
As of birds of prey contending. 
Saw a gleam of light above him, 
Shining through the ribs of Nahma, 
Saw the glittering eyes of sea-gulls, i"^^ 

Of Kayoshk, the sea-gulls, peering, 
Gazing at him through the opening, 
Heard them saying to each other, 
' ' ^Tis our brother, Hiawatha ! ' ' 

And he shouted from below them, i*^^ 

Cried exulting from the caverns:. 
^ ^ O ye sea-gulls ! my brothers ! 
I have slain the sturgeon, Nahma; 
Make the rifts a little larger. 
With your claws the openings widen, i^o 

Set me free from this dark prison. 
And henceforward and forever 
Men shall speak of your achievements. 
Calling you Kayoshk, the sea-gulls, 
Yes, Kayoshk, the Noble Scratchers!" 1^5 

And the wild and clamorous sea-gulls 



56 The Song of Hiawatha y 

Toiled with beak and claws together, 

Made the rifts and openings wider 

In the mighty ribs of Nahma, 

And from peril and from prison, i^o 

From the body of the sturgeon. 

From the peril of the water. 

They released my Hiawatha. 

He was standing near his wigwam, 
On the margin of the water, ^^^ 

And he called to old Nokomis, 
Called and beckoned to Nokomis, 
Pointed to the sturgeon, Nahma, 
Lying lifeless on the pebbles. 
With the sea-gulls feeding on him. 200 

"I harv^e slain the Mishe-Nahma, 
Slain the King of Fishes!" said he; 
''Look! the sea-gulls feed upon him. 
Yes, my friends Kayoshk, the seargulls; 
Drive them not away, Nokomis, 205 

They have saved me from great peril 
In the body of the sturgeon. 
Wait until their meal is ended, 
Till their craws are full with feasting, 
Till they homeward fly, at sunset, 210 

To' their nests among the marshes ; 
Then bring all your pots and kettles, 
And make oil for us in Winter." 

And she waited till the sun set, 
Till the pallid moon, the Night-sun, 215 

Eo'Se above the tranquil water. 
Till Kayoshk, the sated sea-gulls, 
From their banquet rose with clamor. 
And across the fiery sunset 

Winged their way to far-off islands, 220 

To their nests among the rushes. 

To his sleep went Hiawatha, 



Hiawatha and the Pearl-Feather 57 

And Nokomis to her labor, 

Toiling- patient in tlie moonlight 

Till the sun and moon clianged places, 225 

Till the sky was red with sunrise, 

And Kayoshk, the hungry sea-gulls, 

Came back from the reedy islands. 

Clamorous for their morning banquet. 

Three whole days and nights alternate 2^*^ 

Old Nokomis and the sea-gulls 
Stripped the oily flesh of Nahma, 
Till the waves washed through the rib-bones. 
Till the sea-gulls came no longer. 
And upon the sands lay nothing 235 

But the skeleton of Nahma. 



IX. 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEAKL-FEATHEB. 

On the shores of Gitche Gumee, 

Of the shining Big- Sea- Water, 

Stood Nokomis, the old woman, 

Pointing with her finger westward, 

O^er the water pointing westward, 5 

To the purple clouds of sunset. 

Fiercely the red sun descending 
Burned his way along the heavens. 
Set the sky on fire behind him, 
As war-parties, when retreating, 10 

Burn the prairies on their war-trail; 
And the moon, the Night-sun, eastward. 
Suddenly starting from his ambush, 
Followed fast those bloody footprints, 
Followed in that fiery war-trail, 15 

With its glare upon his features. 

And Nokomis,. the old woman, 



58 The Song of Hiawatha 

Pointing with her finger westward, 

Spake these words to Hiawatha : 

'^ Yonder dwells the great Pearl-Feather 20 

Megissogwon, the Magician, 

Manito of Wealth and Wampum, 

Guarded by his fiery serpents, 

Guarded by the black pitch-water. 

You can see his fiery serpents, 25 

The Kenabeek, the great serpents. 

Coiling, playing in the water; 

You can see the black pitch-water 

Stretching far away beyond them. 

To the purple clouds of sunset! ^^ 

^'He it was who slew my father. 
By his wicked wiles and cunning. 
When he from the moon descended. 
When he came on earth to seek me. 
He, the mightiest of Magicians, ^^ 

Sends the fever from the marshes. 
Sends the pestilential vapors. 
Sends the poisonous exhalations, 
Sends the white fog from the fen-lands. 
Sends disease and death among us! "^^ 

'^Take your bow, Hiawatha, 
Take your arrows, jasper-headed. 
Take your war-club, Puggawaugun, 
And your mittens, Minjekahwun, 
And your birch canoe for sailing, 45 

And the oil of Mishe-Nahma, 
So to smear its sides, that swiftly 
You may pass the black pitch-water; 
Slay this merciless magician, 
Save the people from the fever 
That he breathes across the fen-lands, 
And avenge my father's murder!" 

Straightway then my Hiawatha 



50 



60 



65 



70 



Hiawatha and the Pearl-Feather 59 

Aniied himself with all his war-gear, 

Launched his birch canoe for sailing; ^^ 

With his palm its sides he patted, 

Said with glee, '^Cheemaun, my darling, 

my Birch-canoe! leap forward. 

Where you see the fiery serpents, 

Where you see the black pitch-water!" 

Forward leaj^ed Cheemaun exulting, 
And the Noble Hiaw^atha 
Sang his war-song wild and woful. 
And above him the war-eagle. 
The Keneu, the great war-eagle, 
Master of all fowls with feathers, 
Screamed and hurtled through the heavens. 

Soon he reached the fiery serpents. 
The Kenabeek, the great serpents, 
Lying huge upon the water. 
Sparkling, rippling in the water, 
Lying coiled across the passage. 
With their blazing crests uplifted, 
Breathing fieiy fogs and vapors, 
So that none could pass beyond them. '^^ 

But the fearless Hiawatha 
Cried aloud, and spake in this wise: 
^'Let me pass my way, Kenabeek, 
Let me go u^^on my journey!" 
And they answered, hissing fiercely, ^o 

With their fiery breath made answer: 
' ' Back, go back ! Shaugodaya ! 
Back to old Nokomis, Faint-heart!" 

Then the angr\' Hiawatha 
Raised his mighty bow of ash-tree, ^^ 

Seized his arrows, jasper-headed, 
Shot them fast among the serpents; 
Every twanging of the bow-string- 
Was a war-cry and a death-cry. 



60 The Song of Hiawatha 



90 



Every whizzing of an arrow 
Was a death- song of Kenabeek. 

Weltering in the bloody water, 
Dead lay all the fiery serpents, 
And among them Hiawatha 

Harmless sailed, and cried exulting: ^^ 

^'Onward, Cheemaun, my darling! 
Onward to the black pitch-water!" 

Then he took the oil of Nahma, 
And the bows and sides anointed. 
Smeared them well with oil, that swiftly ^^^^ 

He might pass the black pitch-water. 

All night long he sailed upon it. 
Sailed upon that sluggish water, 
Covered with its mould of ages. 
Black with rotting water-rushes, ^^^ 

Rank with flags and leaves of lilies. 
Stagnant, lifeless, dreary, dismal, 
Lighted by the shimmering moonlight, 
And by will-o'-the-wisps illumined. 
Fires by ghosts of dead men kindled, i^*' 

In their weary night-encampments. 

All the air was white with moonlight. 
All the water black with shadow, 
And around him the Suggema, 
The mosquito, sang his war-song, ^^^ 

And the fire-flies, Wah-wah-taysee, 
Waved their torches to mislead him; 
And the bull-frog, the Dahinda, 
Thrust his head into the moonlight, 
Fixed his yellow eyes upon him, 120 

Sobbed and sank beneath the surface; 
And anon a thousand whistles, 
.Answered over all the fen-lands, 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Far off on the reedy margin, 125 



Hiawatha and the Pearl-Feather 61 

Heralded the hero's comiug. 

Westward thus fared Hiawatha, 
T'oward the reahii of Megissogwoii, 
Toward the land of the Pearl-Feather, 
Till the level moon stared at him, ^^^- 

In his face stared pale and haggard. 
Till the sun was hot behind him, 
Till it burned upon his shoulders, 
And before him on the upland 
He could see the Shining Wigwam ^^^ 

Of the Manito of Wampum, 
Of the mightiest of Magicians. 

Then once more Cheemaun he patted, 
To his birch-canoe said, ' ' Onward ! ' ' 
And it stirred in all its fibres, ^^^ 

And with one great bound of triumph 
LeajDed across the water-lilies. 
Leaped through tangled flags and rushes. 
And upon the beach beyond them 
Dry-shod landed Hiawatha. ^^^ 

Straight he took his bow of ash-tree. 
On the sand one end he rested. 
With his knee he pressed the middle. 
Stretched the faithful bow-string tighter, 
Took an arrow, jasper-headed, i^^ 

Shot it at the Shining Wigwam, 
Sent it singing as a herald, 
As a bearer of his message. 
Of his challenge loud and lofty: 
^ * Come forth from your lodge, Pearl-Feather ! ^^^ 
Hiawatha awaits your coming!" 

Straightway from the Shining Wigwam 
Came the mighty Megissogwon, 
Tall of stature, broad of shoulder, 
Dark and terrible in aspect, i^o 

Clad from head to foot in wampum, 



62 The Song of Hiawatha 

Aimed with all his warlike weapons, 
Painted like the sky of morning, 
Streaked with crimson, blue and yellow, 
Crested with great eagle-feathers, i^s 

Streaming upward, streaming outward. 

*'Well I know you, Hiawatha!" 
Cried he in a voice of thunder, 
In a tone of loud derision. 

*^ Hasten back, Shaugodaya! I'^o 

Hasten back among the women. 
Back to old Nokomis, Faint-heart! 
I will slay you as you stand there, 
As of old I slew her father!" 

But my Hiawatha answered, i'^^ 

Nothing daunted, fearing nothing: 
*'Big words do not smite like war-clubs. 
Boastful breath is not a bow-string. 
Taunts are not so sharp as arrows, 
Deeds are better things than words are, i^o 

Actions mightier than boastings!" 

Then began the greatest battle 
That the sun had ever looked on. 
That the war-birds ever witnessed. 
All a Summer's day it lasted, • 1^5 

From the sunrise to the sunset; 
For the shafts of Hiawatha 
Harmless hit the shirt of wampum. 
Harmless fell the blows he dealt it 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, ^^^ 

Harmless fell the heavy war-club; 
It could dash the rocks asunder. 
But it could not break the meshes 
Of that magic shirt of wampum. 

Till at sunset Hiawatha,^ i^^ 

Leaning on his bow of ash-tree, 
Wounded, weary, and desponding. 



Hiawatha and the Pearl-Feather 63 

With his mighty war-club broken, 

With his mittens torn and tattered, 

And three useless arrows only, 200 

Paused to rest beneath a pine-tree, 

From whose branches trailed the mosses, 

And whose trunk was coated over 

With the Dead-man's Moccasin-leather, 

With the fungus white and yellow 205 

Suddenly from the boughs above him 
Sang the Mama, the woodpecker: 
^'Aim your arrows, Hiawatha, 
At the head of Megissogwon, 
Strike the tuft of hair upon it, 210 

At their roots the long black tresses; 
There alone can he be w^ounded!" 

Winged with feathers, tipped with jasper. 
Swift flew Hiawatha's arrow. 
Just as Megissogwon, stooping, 215 

Eaised a heavy stone to throw it. 
Full upon the crown it struck him. 
At the roots of his long tresses, 
And he reeled and staggered fon\^ard. 
Plunging like a wounded bison, 220 

Yes, like Pezhekee, the bison, 
When the snow is on the prairie. 

Swifter flew the second arrow. 
In the pathway of the other, 
Piercing deeper than the other, 225 

Wounded sorer than the other; 
And the knees of Megissogwon 
Shook like windy reeds beneath him, 
Bent and trembled like the rushes. 

But the third and latest arrow 230 

Swiftest flew, and wounded sorest, 
And the mighty Megissogwon 
Saw the fier^^ eyes of Pauguk, 



64 The Song of Hiawatha 

Saw the eyes of Death glare at him, 

Heard his voice call in the darkness; 235 

At the feet of Hiawatha 

Lifeless lay the great Pearl-Feather, 

Lay the mightiest of Magicians. 

Then the grateful Hiawatha 
Oalled tlie Mama, the woodpecker, 240 

From his perch among the branches 
Of the melancholy pine-tree, 
And, in honor of his service, 
Stained with blood the tuft of feathers 
On the little head of Mama; 245 

Even to this day he wears it. 
Wears the tuft of crimson feathers 
As a symbol of his service. 

Then he stripped the shirt of wampum 
From the back of Megissogwon, ^so 

As a trophy of the battle, 
As a signal of his conquest. 
On tlie shore he left the body, 
Half on land and half in water. 
In the sand his feet were buried, ^^^ 

And his face was in the water. 
And above him, wheeled and clamored 
The Keneu, the great war-eagle. 
Sailing round in narrower circles. 
Hovering nearer, nearer, nearer. ^60 

From the wigwam Hiawatha 
Bore the wealth of Megissogwon, 
All his wealth of skins and wampum, 
Ftirs of bison and of beaver, 
Flirs of sable and of ermine, ^^^ 

Wampum belts and strings and pouches. 
Quivers wrought with beads of wampum. 
Filled with arrows, silver-headed. 

Homeward then he sailed exulting, 



Hiawatha and the Pearl-Feather 65 

Homeward through the black pitch-water, ^To 
Jlomeward through the weltering serpents, 
With the trophies of the battle, 
AVith a shout and song of triumph. 

On the shore stood old Nokomis, 
On the shore stood Chibiabos, 275 

And the very strong man, Kwasind, 
Waiting for the hero's coming, 
Listening to his song of trumph. 
And the people of the village 
Welcomed him with songs and dances, 280 

Made a joyous feast, and shouted: 
*' Honor be to Hiawatha! 
He has slain the great Pearl-Feather, 
Slain the mightiest of Magicians, 
Him who sent the fiery fever, 
Sent the wliite fog from the fen-lands, 
Sent disease and death among us!" 

Ever dear to Hiawatha 
Was the memory of Mama! 
And in token of his friendship, 
As a mark of his remembrance, 
He adorned and decked his pipe-stem 
With the crimson tuft of feathers. 
With the blood-red crest of Mama. 
But the wealth of Megissogwon, 295 

All the trophies of the battle, 
He divided with his people, 
Shared it equally among them. 



285 



290 



6Q The Song of Hiawatha 



X. 



Hiawatha's wooing. 



^^As unto the bow the cord is, 

So unto the man is woman, 

Though she bends him, she obeys him, 

Though she draws him, yet she follows. 

Useless each without the other!" ^ 

Thus the youthful Hiawatha 
Said within himself and pondered, 
Much perplexed by various feelings. 
Listless, longing, hoping, fearing. 
Dreaming still of Minnehaha, ^^ 

Of the lovely Laughing Water, 
In the land of the Dacotahs. 

"Wed a maiden of your people," 
Warning said the old Nokomis; 
"Go not eastward, go not westward, ^^ 

For a stranger, whom we know not! 
Like a fire upon the hearth-stone 
Is a neighbor's homely daughter. 
Like the starlight or the moonlight 
Is the handsomest of strangers!" 20 

Thus dissuading spake Nokomis, 
And my Hiawatha answered 
Only this: "Dear old Nokomis, 
Very pleasant is the firelight. 
But I like the starlight better, 25 

Better do I like the moonlight!" 

Gravely then said old Nokomis: 
"Bring not here an idle maiden, 
Bring not here a useless woman, 
Hands unskilful, feet unwilling; 
Bring a wife with nimble fingers, 



30 



Hiawatha's Wooing 67 

Heart and hand that move together, 
Feet that run on willing errands!'' 

Smiling, answered Hiawatha : 
^^In the land of the Daeotahs 35 

Lives tlie Arrow-mal^er's daughter, 
MiDnehaha, Laughing Water, 
Handsomest of all the w^omen. 
I will bring her to your wigwam, 
She shall run upon your errands, ^^ 

Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight, 
Be the sunlight of my people!" 

Still dissuading said Nokomis: 
^' Bring not to my lodge a stranger 
From the land of the Daeotahs! *5 

Very fierce are the Daeotahs, 
Often is there war between us. 
There are feuds yet unforgotten. 
Wounds that ache and still may open!" 

Laughing answered Hiawatha: ^^ 

'^For that reason, if no other. 
Would I wed the fair Dacotah, 
That our tribes might be united, 
That old feuds might be forgotten, 
And old wounds be healed forever!" 55 

Thus departed Hiawatha 
To the land of the Daeotahs, 
To the land of handsome women; 
Striding over moor and meadow. 
Through interminable forests, 60 

Through uninterrupted silence. 

With his moccasins of magic. 
At each stride a mile he measured; 
Yet the way seemed long before him, 
And his heart outrun his footsteps; ^5 

And he journeyed without resting. 
Till he heard the cataract's laughter. 



GS The Song of Hiawatha 

Heard the Falls of Minnehaha 

Calling to him through the silence. 

*' Pleasant is the sound!'' he murmured, '^^ 

*' Pleasant is the voice that calls me!" 

On the outskirts of the forest, 
'Twixt the shadow and the sunshine, 
Herds of fallow deer were feeding. 
But they saw not Hiawatha; '^^ 

To his bow he whisi3ered, ''Fail not!" 
To his arrow whispered, "Swerve not!" 
Sent it singing on its errand, 
To the red heart of the roebuck; 
Threw the deer across his shoulder, ^® 

And si^ed forward without iDausing. 

At the doorway of his wigwam 
Sat the ancient Arrow-maker, 
In the land of the Dacotahs, 

Making arrow-heads of jasper, ^^ 

Arrow-heads of chalcedony. 
At his side, in all her beauty, 
Sat the lovely Minnehaha, 
Sat his daughter, Laughing Water, 
Plaiting mats of flags and rushes; 9® 

Of the past the old man's thoughts were. 
And the maiden's of the future. 

He was thinking, as he sat there. 
Of the days when with such arrows 
He had struck the deer and bison, ^^ 

On the Muskoday, the meadow; 
Shot the wild goose, flying southward. 
On the wing, the clamorous Wawa ; 
Thinking of the great war-parties, 
How they came to buy his arrows, ^^^ 

Could not fight without his arrows. 
Ah, no more such noble warriors 
Could be found on earth as they were! 



Hiawatha's Wooing 69 

Now the men were all like women, 

Only used their tongues for weapons! 105 

She was thinking of a hunter, 
From another tribe and country, 
Young and tall and very handsome. 
Who one morning, in the Spring-time', 
Came to buy her father's arrows, no 

Sat and rested in the wigwam. 
Lingered long about the doorway, 
Looking back as he departed. 
She had heard her father praise him, 
Praise his courage and his wisdom; i^^ 

Would he come again for arrows 
To the Falls of Minnehaha! 
On the mat her hands lay idle. 
And her eyes were yery dreamy. 

Through their thoughts they heard a footstep, 120 
Heard a rustling in the branches, 
And with glowing cheek and forehead. 
With the deer upon his shoulders, 
Suddenly from out the woodlands 
Hiawatha stood before them. 125 

Straight the ancient Arrow-maker 
Looked up grayely from his labor, 
Laid aside the unfinished arrow. 
Bade him enter at the doorway. 
Saying, as he rose to meet him, i^^ 

^^ Hiawatha, yon are welcome !'' 

At the feet of Laughing Water 
Hiawatha laid his burden. 
Threw the red deer from his shoulders; 
And the maiden looked up at him, ^^^ 

Looked up from her mat of rushes, 
Said with gentle look and accent, 
^ ' You are welcome, Hiawatha ! ' ' 

Very spacious was the wigwam, 



70 The Song of Hiawatha 

Made of deer-skin dressed and whitened, ^^^ 

With the Gods of the Dacotahs 

Drawn and painted on its curtains, 

And so tall the doorway, hardly 

Hiawatha stooped to enter. 

Hardly touched his eagle-feathers ^^^ 

As he entered at the doorway. 

Then up rose the Laughing Water, 
Prom the ground fair Minnehaha, 
Laid aside her mat unfinished. 
Brought forth food and set before them, ^^^ 

Water brought them from the brooklet, 
Ga,ve them food in earthen vessels. 
Gave them drink in bowls of bass-wood. 
Listened while the guest was speaking, 
Listened while her father answered, ^^^ 

But not once her lips she opened. 
Not a single word she uttered. 

Yes, as in a dream she listened 
To the words of Hiawatha, 
As he talked of old Nokomis, ^^® 

Wlio had nursed him in his childhood. 
As he told of his companions, 
Chibiabos, the musician, 
And the very strong man, Kwasind, 
And of happiness and plenty ^^^ 

In the land of the Ojibways, 
In the pleasant land and peaceful. 

^^ After many years of warfare, 
Many years of strife and bloodshed. 
There is peace between the Ojibways i'^^ 

And the tribe of the Dacotahs." 
Thus continued Hiawatha, 
And then added, speaking slowly, 
**That this peace may last forever. 
And our hands be clasped more closely, ^'^^ 



Hiawatha's Wooing 71 

And our heaiis be more united, 

Give me as my wife this maiden, 

Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 

Loveliest of Dacotah women!" 

And the ancient Arrow-maker i^o 

Paused a moment ere he answered, 

Smoked a little while in silence, 

Looked at Hiawatha proudly, 

Fondly looked at Laughing Water, 

And made answer very gravely: '^^^ 

*^Yes, if Minnehaha wishes; 

Let your heart speak, Minnehaha!" 

And the lovely Laughing Water 
Seemed more lovely, as she stood there, 
Neither willing nor reluctant, ^^^ 

As she went to Hiawatha, 
Softly took the seat beside him. 
While she said, and blushed to say it, 
*^I will follow you, my husband!" 

This was Hiawatha's wooing! ^^^ 

Thus it was he won the daughter 
Of the ancient Arrow-maker, 
In the land of the Dacotahs! 

From the wigwam he departed, 
Leading with him Laughing Water; 200 

Hand in hand they went together, 
Through the woodland and the meadow. 
Left the old man standing lonely 
At the doorway of his wigwam, 
Heard the Falls of Minnehaha 205 

Calling to them from the distance, 
Crying to them from afar off, 
*'Fare tiiee well, Minnehaha!" 

And the ancient Arrow-maker 
Turned again unto his labor, 210 

Sat down by his sunny doorway, 



72 The Song of Hiawatha 

Miiriimring to liimself, and saying: 

*'Thns it is our daughters leave us, 

Those we love, and those who love us! 

Just when they have learned to lielp us, 215 

When we are old and lean upon them, 

Comes a youth with flaunting feathers, 

With his flute of reeds, a stranger 

Wanders piping through the village, 

Beckons to the fairest maiden, ^^^ 

And she follows where he leads her, 

Leaving all things for the stranger!" 

Pleasant was the journey homeward. 
Through interminable forests, 
Over meadow, over mountain, 225 

Over river, hill, and hollow. 
Short it seemed to Hiawatha, 
Though they journeyed very slowly. 
Though his pace he checked and slackened 
To the steps of Laughing Water. 

Over wide and rushing rivers 
In his arms he bore the maiden; 
Light he thought her as a feather. 
As the plume upon his head-gear; 
Cleared the tangled pathway for her, 235 

Bent aside the swaying branches. 
Made at night a lodge of branches, 
And a bed with boughs of hemlock. 
And a fire before the doorway 
With the dry cones of the pine-tree. 240 

All the travelling winds went with them, 
O^er the meadow, through the forest: 
All the stars of night looked at them, 
Watched with sleepless eyes their slumber; 
From his ambush in the oak-tree ^45 

Peeped the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Watched witU eager eyes the lovers; 



230 



250 



260 



Hiawatha's Wooing 73 

And the rabbit, the Wabasso, 
Scampered from the path before them, 
Peering", peeping from his burrow, 
Sat erect upon his haunches. 
Watched with curious eyes the lov6rs. 

Pleasant was the journey homeward! 
All the birds sang loud and sweetly 
Songs of happiness and heart 's-ease; ^5 

Sang the bluebird, the Owaissa, 
'^ Happy are you, Hiawatha, 
Having such a wife to love you!" 
Sang the robin, the Opechee, 
''Happy are you. Laughing Water, 
Having such a noble husband!" 

From the sky the sun benignant 
Looked upon them through the branches. 
Saying to them, ''0' my children. 
Love is sunshine, hate is shadow. 
Life is checkered shade and sunshine. 
Rule by love, Hiawatha!" 

From the sky the moon looked at them, 
Filled the lodge with mystic splendors. 
Whispered to them, ''0 my children, ^'^^ 

Day is restless, night is quiet, 
Man imperious, woman feeble; 
Half is mine, although I follow; 
Rule by patience. Laughing Water!" 

Thus it was they journeyed homeward; ^75 

Thus it was that Hiawatha 
To the lodge of old Nokomis 
Brought the moonlight, starlight, firelight. 
Brought the sunshine of his people, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water, ^^^ 

Handsomest of all the women 
In the land of the Dacotahs, 
Tn tlie land of handsome women. 



265 



HIAWATHA. 

INTRODUCTION. 



Hiawatha was first published in 1855, and during the half century 
of its existence it has steadily gained in popular favor. It is now 
recognized as one of Longfellow's greatest poems and as a treasury of 
Indian legends nowhere else told in such beautiful and harmonious 
language. The following introduction to the first edition by the 
author explains how the legends found in the poem were obtained. 

"This Indian Edda — if I may so call it — is founded on a tradition 
prevalent among the North American Indians of a personage of mirac- 
ulous birth, who was sent among them to clear their rivers, forests 
and fishing-grounds, and to teach them the arts of peace. He was 
known among different tribes by the several names of Michabou, 
Chiado, Manabozho, Tarenyawagon and Hiawatha. Mr. Schoolcraft 
gives an account of him in his Algic Researches, and in his History, 
Conditions and Prospiccts of the Indian Tribes of the United States 
may be found the Iroquois form of the tradition, derived from the 
narrations of an Onondaga chief. Into this old tradition I have woven 
other curious Indian legends, drawn chiefly from the various and valu- 
able writings of Mr. Schoolcraft, to whom the literary world is greatly 
indebted for his indefatigable zeal in rescuing from oblivion so much 
of the legendary lore of the Indians. The scene of the poem is among 
the Ojibways, on the southern shore of Lake Superior, in the region 
between the Pictured Rocks and Grand Sable." 

As shown by the preceding paragraph, Mr. Schoolcraft supposed 
Manabozho and Hiawatha to be the same personage. More recent in- 
vestigation has proved this to be untrue. Manabozho, Chiado and 
Michabou are but different names for a certain Algonquin mj^tho- 
logical character. This Manabozho, the great spirit-man of the Ojib- 
ways, was a monstrosity. In him were combined all that was brave, 
war-like, strong, wise and great in the conception of the Indians. He 
conquered the greatest magicians, overcame fiery serpents, engaged in 
fierce combats and performed extravagant exploits. However, in con- 
trast to these mighty deeds he went about playing low tricks, doing 
much mischief, and was often in great want. In cunning and energy 
he was superior to anyone who had ever lived before ; yet he was simple 
when circumstances required it and was ever the object of the tricks 
and ridicule of others. Hiawatha, however, is a historic personage 

74 



HIAWATHA 75 

who was probably living when Columbus made his first voyage across 
the Atlantic. He was the wise Indian law-maker who founded the 
Confederacy of the Five Nations. The Iroquois considered him the 
greatest chief that ever lived. His name, translated, is the very 

WISE MAN. 

Schoolcraft's works have long been out of print, and copies are now 
rare. Fortunately the author of these Notes was enabled to obtain the 
use of a set of his works while preparing the manuscript, and the in- 
formation appended was gleaned largely from them. Most of the 
space is devoted to explanation of the facts and traditions upon which 
the legends of the poem are founded. The Glossary contains the pro- 
nounciation and translation of the Indian names. 



NOTES. 



1. Should you asTc me, etc. — The sources from which the legendc of the poem 
were obtained are given in the Introduction. 

8. Beverherations. — Repeated echoes. 

13. From the land of the Ojibways. — The Ojibways, when first known to 

white men, inhabited the regions south of Lake Superior. The legends 
of the poem come for the most part from the mythology of the Ojib- 
ways and the Dacotahs. 

14. Dacotahs. — A name generally applied to the tribes of the Northwest 

that formerly inhabited the territory between the Rocky Mountains 
and the Mississippi River, as far south as the River Platte. Mr. Long- 
fellow, when using the term Dacotahs in this poem, means the Sioux, 
a Dacotah tribe that lived around the headwaters of the Mississippi. 

15. Fen-lands. — These were loAvlands wholly or partially overflowed, but pro- 

ducing shrubs and coarse grass. 

16. Heron. — The great blue heron is one of the largest wading birds in the 

northern regions of the United States. 
19. Nawadaha. — The Indian who first told ]\Ir. Schoolcraft about Hiawatha. 
Mr. Schoolcraft wrote the legend, and Mr. Longfellow obtained it 
from his books. 

26. Beaver. — A fur-bearing animal that was' once abundant in the United 

States but which has gradually disappeared before the advance of 
civilization. Its favorite haunts are rivers and lakes that are bordered 
by forests. Beavers pass the winter in houses or lodges which are two 
to three feet high, are built on the edge of the water, and afford them 
protection from wolves and other wild beasts. 

27. Bison. — The North American buffalo. 

28. Eyry. — The nest of a bird that builds in a lofty place. 

32. Flover. — One of a species of game birds that inhabit the shores of 

streams and lakes. 

33. Loon. — A large northern aquatic bivd. 

35. Grouse. — A game bird commonly known as the prairie-hen. 
41. Vale of Taivasentha. — This is a valley in Albany County^ New York, and 
is now known as Norman's Kill. 



76 HIAWATHA 

44. Dwelt the singer. — The Indians had a great number of legends, stories 
and historical tales that formed a vast fund for winter amusement 
and instruction. Each Indian Village had its singer, or story-teller, 
who kept alive the legends and traditions of the tribe. A story-teller 
has been known to begin to narrate stories and lengends in the month 
of October, and not to end until late in the spring, and on every even- 
ing of this long term to tell a new story. 

73. Palisade. — A fence formed of strong stakes set firmly in the ground. 

74. And the thunder, etc. — In this metaphor is embodied a belief of the 

Ojibways, who thought that thunder was a very large bird, and that 
the rumbling noise was caused by an immense number of young birds. 
The old bird was wise and good; it was the young birds or thunders 
that did the mischief, like mischievous young men who will not listen 
to counsel. Since mankind have become so numerous these birds are 
seldom seen, but they are often heard in the skies where they fly higher 
than they formerly did. Once they lived on human flesh, but now they 
subsist on the wild game of the forest. They wink and lightning flashes 
from their eyes. Their nests are built on the Eocky Mountains in 
the far West. 
91. Every human heart is human. — This and the following lines pay a de- 
served tribute to Indian character. Before he learned the vices of the 
white man the American Indian was a moral and a religious man, 
believing in a creator and a future life, and was guided in his acts by 
a conscientious desire to meet the approval and escape the condemna- 
tion of his maker. He was a hospitable and affectionate friend, and a 
cruel and revengeful enemy. 

The Indians existed so completely in the hunter state that they had 
no relish for any labor; and though they were dextrous and cunning 
woodsmen, excelling in all the arts of forestry, they looked with deepest 
contempt upon husbandry or any of the mechanic arts. Yet some 
knowledge of those arts was a necessity; and the Indians had sufficient 
skill to construct their canoes, weave bags and nets of bark, and make 
simple mats to cover their lodges. They also made rude pottery from 
a mixture of clay that would withstand the effects of sudden heating 
and cooling. Some tribes had a good knowledge of numbers; and they 
found a substitute for letters in a system of picture writing, in which 
the same picture or symbol always meant the same thing, and nearly 
all the warriors could read these symbols. 

The Indian was intensely religious and not only believed in the Great 
Spirit but also in thousands of minor gods or spirits. The skies were 
filled wdth deities he worshiped, and the whole forest awakened with 
their whispers. The lakes and streams were the places of their resi- 
dence, and the mountains and valleys also were their abode. All the 
remarkable spots in the country were their favorite resorts. The earth 
swarmed with all sorts of spirits, good and bad. Those of the forest 
clothed themselves in moss. During a shower of rain, thousands of 
them were sheltered in a flower. The Indian, as he reclined beneath 
the shade of his forest trees, imagined these gods to be about him; he 
detected their tiny voices in the insect 's hum, and with half closed eyes 
he beheld them sporting by thousands on a sunbeam. In the evening 
they were seen and heard on every side. 

In council and public intercourse he was inclined to be formal and 
stately in demeanor, and cunning rather than wise. In general, he was 
governed more by impulse than by reason. While capable of great 
exertion on the instant, he couhl not endure the tension of long con- 
tinued effort, either mental or physical; and in this respect he was no 
match for the white man. 



HIAWATHA 77 

I. 

TEE PEACE-PIPE. 

2. The Pipe-stone Quarry. — This quarry is located near the city of Pipe- 

stone in the southwestern part of Minnesota, near the Dakota boun- 
dary. It lies in a broad valley, with gentle slopes that terminate in 
long low ridges which form the Mountains of the Prairie. These swells 
occur at intervals of from two to three miles, and sometimes attain an 
altitude of over a hundred feet above the surrounding country. In 
form and relative position they closely resemble the huge waves of the 
ocean, but they are much larger. 
5. On the red crags of the quarry. — The site is partially surrounded by a 
cliff of jasper, which extends for two miles north and south, forming 
the arc of a circle and rising in some places perpendicularly to a height 
of twenty-five or thirty feet. In places the jasper is of a deep blood- 
red and forms a beautiful background for the valley below. A small 
stream that is formed by several springs on top plunges over the cliff 
at about its center, forming a beautiful cascade. 

Near the banks of this creek the pipestone is buried from four to five 
feet deep. It is a soft clay rock of very fine texture. In color it 
varies from a deep red to a light pinkish gray. Some specimens are 
mottled by a mingling of the two colors, but only the red stone is 
considered suitable for pipes. This stone is the most valuable legendary 
treasure of the North American Indians, and for centuries Pipestone 
Valley was neutral ground, where all tribes could gather without fear 
of war or discord to procure the precious stone for the calumet; and 
many interesting legends are woven around the place. The only other 
locality from which pipestone is obtained is a quarry at Sioux Falls, 
South Dakota. 

3. Gitche Manito. — The Great Spirit, the Indian Creator. 

23. Filled the pipe with tarfc of willow. — The Indians of the Northwest did 
not know of tobacco until the white traders brought it to them; but 
there are many weeds, leaves and barks of trees which are narcotics 
that grew in their country, and which they dried, pulverized and 
smoked. Knick-Jcnick, or the bark of the red willow, was used the most. 

25. Breathed upon the neighboring forest, etc. — Here the poet attributes to 
the Great Spirit an act which was customary with the Indians on a 
small scale, that of kindling a fire by rubbing two pieces of dry wood 
together. 

32. 'And the smolce rose slowly, etc. — The chief means of communication be- 
tween two parties of Indians some distance apart was by signal fires. 

42. From the Vale of Tawasentlia, etc. — This and the following lines name 
localities representing the entire country. The council included all 
the tribes of the land. Pipes made from pipestone have been found 
in Indian graves as far east as Oswego, N. Y. 

50. Prophets of the Nations. — These were usually the leading religious teach- 
ers, and were supposed to be able to read the messages of the Great 
Spirit and the other gods, by observing the phenomena of nature and 
the acts of animals, and through dreams. Occasionally a prophet led 
his tribe in war. Pontiac and Tecumseh w^ere called prophets. 

72. Painted like the leaves of Autnmn. — The Indians used red as a symbol 
of bravery and of war, and when on the war path they decorated their 
weapons and even their bodies and faces with bright red paint. 



78 



HIAWATHA 



78. Tlie ancestral thirst for vengeance. — "When they were first known to 
white men a number of Indian tribes were constantly at war with each 
other, because of ancient feuds that extended back for so many genera- 
tions that the oldest men could not relate the story of their beginning. 
The feud between the Algonquins and the Iroquois was of this nature. 
85. Feuds. — Lines 86 and 87 are definitions of this word. 

102. Boe. — A female deer. 

Reindeer. — The North American reindeer, or caribou, were formerly 
found in great herds in Canada. The reindeer is more heavily built 
than other species of deer. 

103. Brant. — A species of wild goose. 

116. I will send a Prophet to you. — Hiawatha, the hero of the poem. The 
poet gives to this hero the name and character of the chief who founded 
the Confederacy of the Five Nations, and the good attributes of the 
Ojibway demi-god, Manabozho. The birth of the hero and most of 
his marvelous powers and deeds are ascribed by tradition to Mana- 
bozho, but his wisdom and high moral character are those of the 
Iroquois Hiawatha. 



S=3K 




^^^^^ 



" ^ <=• " '" ^ 



Pipes, 



129. Mould and rruike it into Peace-pipes. — The Indians took great pains in 
making their pipes. The bowls of many of them were designed and 
carved with taste and skill. The stems, which were from two to four 
feet in length and from one to two inches in width, were sometimes 
round, but usually flat, and were generally made from the stalk of 
the young ash. The stems were often ingeniously carved, and were 
decorated with braids of dyed porcupine quills and with bright feath- 
ers. The beak and tuft of the red-headed woodpecker were also fre- 
quently used. 



/y 




tn^ 



Calamet. 

The Calumet, or Peace-Pipe, was a sacred pipe and was ornamented 
with the war-eagle's quills. It was used only when making peace. On 
such an occasion the representatives of the contending parties sat in 
a circle, the calumet was passed from one to another, and each smoked 
one puff. This was an inviolable pledge to adhere to the terms agreed 
upon by both parties, and was, in fact, equivalent to the signing of a 



HIAWATHA 79 

treaty of peace among civilized nations. The calumet was also carried 
as an emblem of peace when passing through the territory belonging 
to strange tribes. Those carrying it were seldom molested. 

II. 

THE FOUE WINDS. 

4. Belt of Wampum. — Wampum is the name of beads manufactured by the 
Indians from vari-colored shells, which they filed and cut into bits 
from one-half to one and one-half inches in length and perforated 
with stone awls, giving them the shape of pieces of broken pipe stem. 
These they strung on deer sinews and wore on their necks in profusion; 
or they wove them ingeniously into war belts. The tribes of the 
Atlantic coast made their beads much smaller than did the tribes of 
the interior, and among them wampum circulated as money. The belt 
was passed in treaty, as a pledge of friendship, and sent to hostile 
tribes as a message of peace. The Indians believed their gods to be 
the possessors of numerous belts of wampum, and in this sense only 
was it considered sacred. 

6. Wahasso. — Wabasso was a son of Mudjekeewis. As soon as he was born 
he fled to the North, where he was changed to a white rabbit, and, as 
such, was considered a sacred spirit. 

25. Mwffle. — A cloth or fur wrap for the neck and nose. 

43. " HarTc you, Bear! you are a coward.'* — The Mohicans and Dela wares 

were accustomed to address in a similar manner any animal that they 
attacked. 

44. Brave. — A strong-hearted warrior. See note on line 237, Hiawatha's 

Childhood. 




War Clubi. 

58. War-chih. — The war-club was a shaft of heavy wood with a ball carved 
at one side of the head. In this ball were sometimes fastened jagged 
pieces of rock. The Indians, in telling this story, say that Mudjekeewis 
could shatter a tree with one blow of his club, as does the lightning 
when striking it. 

61. BroTce his sl-ull, as ice is hrolen. — The Indians fished as much in winter 
as in summer. They would break holes in the ice, and in shallow 
water spear the fish, or in deep water catch them with hook and line. 

105. Gathering water-flags and rushes. — The Indian women wove mats and 
baskets out of flags and rushes. 



80 HIAWATHA 

123. Till into a star he cJianged her. — The stars and sky were carefully 
observed by the red men. Thunder and lightning, the aurora borealis, 
the rainbow, the milky way, the morning and evening stars, and the 
more prominent groups of fixed and minor stars were specifically named 
by the Indians who, like the ancient Greeks, had a story or myth that 
explained the existence of each. 

141. Cormorant. — One of a family of aquatic birds, whose general color is 
a glossy greenish black, and Avhich are found in the United States along 
the coast and around the large lakes of the interior. 

141. Curlew. — A wading bird, which is found in all temperate parts of North 

America. It has a long, slender, curved bill, long legs, and a short 
tail, and frequents the seashore and open moorlands. 

142. Sedge. — A plant growing in tufts in marshy regions. 
Sea-tang. — A kind of seaweed. 

153. Shingehis, the diver. — The grebe, commonly known as the hell-diver. 

155. Fens. — Lowlands covered with water, but producing aquatic plants. 

Moorlands. — Cheerless tracts of land, overgrown with shrubs and some- 
times marshy. 

244. Moon of Snow-shoes. — November. 

298. Shan-ondasee. — The Indians in telling the story of Shawondasee to their 
children draw from it the following moral: '*My children, it is not 
wise to differ in our tastes from other people; nor ought' we to put 
off, through slothfulness, what is best done at once. Had Shawon- 
dasee conformed to the tastes of his countrymen, he would not have 
been an admirer of yellow hair; and had he shown a proper activity 
in his youth, his mind would not have run to flower gathering in his 



age. ' ' 



ra. 



HIAWATHA'S CHILDHOOD. 

17. ''Sec! a star falls!'' — The Indians when they saw a star fall thought 
that it was a spirit descending from the upper regions to earth. 

66. Wigivam. — The wigwam, or lodge was of two kinds. In making one kind, 
slender poles were placed in the ground in a circle, the tops were bent 
over and tied together, and this frame was covered with long rolls of 
white birch bark, with mats woven of reeds and rushes, or with the 
skins of large animals. This lodge looked much like a large hemisphere. 
In making the other kind of wigwam, the poles were not bent over, 
but were left straight and tied at the top. This lodge resembled a 
large cone, and is known as the tepee. 

76. "Roclied in his linden cradle. — The cradle is an object of great pride to 
the Indian mother, and she sj^ares no pains or expense in decorating it. 
It consists of a piece of flat wood which supports the back, a foot- 
rest, and a small hoop to protect the head. The entire structure is 
very light and is carved with a knife by the men from linden or maple 
Avood. 

The papoose, "bedded soft in moss and rushes," is placed in the 
cradle, and a bandage is bound around baby, cradle, and all, giving 
the little one the appearance of a small mummy. A carrying strap is 
fastened to the cradle near the head of the infant, by which the mother 



HIAWATHA 



81 



80. 



82. 



86. 



90. 



94. 



145. 



159. 



can swing it to her back or hang it in an upright position in the lodge 
or on the limb of a tree. After hanging up the cradle, the mother 
gives it a gentle push, causing it to swing back and forth like a 
pendulum. It is from this motion that the leading idea of the Indian 
cradle songs is taken. 




Cradle. 

^'Hush! the Naked Bear will get thee!" — Mishe-Mokwa, the "Great 
Bear of the Mountains, ' ' slain by Mudjekeewis. This was a common 
expression used by Indian mothers to frighten their children into good 
behavior. 

" Ewa-yea, my little owlet." — This lullaby and "the song of children," 
a few lines farther on, are translations of two Ojibway songs. 

Many things NoJconiis taught him, etc. — See note on line 123, The Four 
Winds. 

IshTcoodah, the comet. — Some tribes thought that the appearance of a 
comet was an omen of pestilence. 

Death-Dance of the spirits. — The aurora borealis. The Winnebagos be- 
lieved that the aurora borealis was produced by a bad spirit, and that 
it foretold death. 

Showed the troad white road, etc. — The milky way, that broad, luminous 
path extending across the heavens nearly from north to south. It is 
composed of innumerable stars, so distant and so blended together 
that they cannot be distinguished without a telescope. 

Learned of every hird its language. — The Indians believed that all 
animals had souls, and that they had reasoning powers and could talk. 
When animals died their spirits went to the Happy Hunting Grounds, 
where they were again encountered by the spirits of the Indian dead. 

lagoo. — The personage in Indian mythology noted for telling extrava- 
gant stories of whatever he saw, heard or accomplished. Whenever a 
brave boasted of his deeds more than they would warrant, the Indians 
said that he talked like lagoo. 




Bow and Arrows. 



82 HIAWATHA 

163. Made a how for Hmwatlia. — The Indian bow varied from thirty to 
forty-four inches in length, the average bow being about thirty-six 
inches long. It was made of ash, ironwood, red cedar or hickory, and 
was lined on the back with deer's sinews, which were inseparably 
attached to it and gave it great elasticity. Indians have been known 
to use the bow with such force and skill as to drive an arrow through 
the body of a buffalo. 

171. Kill for US a famous roehuc'k. — There were three ways of hunting deer. 
A snare was sometimes used, and was so placed that the deer's neck 
was caught in such a manner that the harder he tried to get loose the 
tighter he was caught. Another way was by driving spikes of wood 
into the ground on the deer-path, just the other side of a log over 
which the deer would be expected to jump. In jumping the log, the 
deer must fall upon these sharp spikes, which would pierce him through 
and kill him. The third manner of killing deer was with the bow and 
arrow. The hunter watched at the * * salt licks " or at the borders of 
lakes or rivers where the deer went to feed on the grass. An Indian 
could kill a deer in the woods at a distance of fifty paces. 

171. Boehucl'. — A deer with antlers. 

234. Called him Strong-Heart. — The Indian noun, soan-ge-taha, has been 
translated in English as brave, meaning a warrior; but the real mean- 
ing is strong-heart, as given here. Thus, if we translated the word 
literally, instead of saying that Black Hawk and his braves attacked 
a village, we would say that Black Hawk and his strong-hearts at- 
tacked a village. 

IV. 

HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS. 

1. Out of childhood, etc. — The education of an Indian boy began as soon 
as he was able to walk and run about. A tiny bow was given him, 
and when he acquired strength he was encouraged to use it in hunting 
small birds and squirrels. His first success, whether gained with the 
bow or with the snare, was extravagantly praised, and the animal killed, 
no matter how small, was prepared by the child's mother and sisters for 
a feast, to which the chiefs and warriors of the village were ceremoni- 
ously invited. 

The Indian boy was carefully taught the arts of hunting and war, 
the principles of each being enforced and constantly applied by daily 
example and precept. Even their games — such as sham battles, games 
of ball and contests in running and jumping — were of such nature that 
they would help the boys to acquire skill in Avar or the chase. The 
principles of these two callings were as carefully taught and impressed 
upon the Indian youth as are the elements of reading, writing and 
arithmetic upon the American boys of today. 

21. Moccasins. — The Indian's shoes were made of buckskin. The skin was 
steeped in water, dressed with deer 's brains, and smoked until soft, 
smooth and pliant. It was tough and compact, and did not absorb 
moisture. There were many styles of mocassins. The shoes of each 
tribe differed in some respects from those of all others. The mocca- 
sins of the Ojibway were gathered from the tip of the toe to the 
ankle. It is from this that the tribe takes the name Ojibway, the 
meaning of which is gathering. 



HIAWATHA 83 

40. Deer-sJcin shirt. — This shirt was made of two skins so fastened together 
as to be supported on the shoulders, allowing the head to pass through 
an opening left for that purpose. The war shirt was profusely deeo- 
ratecl with dyed porcupine quills, wampum, sweet grass and other orna- 
ments. The favorite colors were bright red and blue. 

Leggings. — These were made just the length of the leg, and were 
fastened to a belt worn under tiie shirt. The outer seam of the legging 
was frequently decorated with fringe. 

42. On his head his eagle feathers. — The feathers of the eagle were the 

most highly prized ornaments of the Indian's costume, and the mode 
in which a feather was cut and worn was a matter of importance. 
Feathers were awarded for deeds of valor; for example, a brave was 
permitted to wear three eagle feathers for each enemy that he killed 
or captured in battle. Thus the number of feathers in an Indian's 
headdress would indicate his skill and bravery in war. 

43. Bound his waist his hclt of wampum. — See note on line 4, The Four 

Winds. 
47. Jasper. — Jasper was frequently used in making arrow heads. It is an 
opaque impure quartz of a variety of colors, and takes a high polish. 

69. Antelope. — An animal which very much resembles the deer. Large herds 

of them at one time roamed over the plains west of the Mississippi 
Eiver, but they are now almost extinct. 

70. Esconaha. — A river of Northern Michigan which flows into the Little 

Bay de Noquet. 

73. Land of Crows and Foxes. — The country that now comprises North and 

South Dakota. 

74. Dwellings of the BlacTcfeet. — The Blackfeet lived around the head waters 

of the Missouri River. 

106. Indomitable. — Not to be subdued. 

107. Invulnerable. — Not to be wounded. 

209. Flamingo. — A bird with a long neck and long legs that lives in the 
tropics. Its general color is red, and it builds its nest of mud in wet 
localities. 

223. Slay all mo7isters and magicians. — The Indians believed in Gitche 
Manito, the God of Good, who ruled the universe. Opposed to him was 
a God of Evil. The heavens were the abode of the God of Good and the 
earth was the dwelling place of the God of Evil. Each of these gods 
was provided with a host of minor gods or spirits, who under the 
shape of birds, beasts, reptiles, men, demons, dwarfs, sorcerers, fairies, 
pygmies, and other forms inhabited the world. Of all the evil spirits, 
the Wendigoes, or giants, were the most dreaded. 

229. Paugul\ — Pauguk is the personification of death. The Indians con- 
ceived him as existing without flesh or blood. His bones were covered 
with a thin transparent skin, and his eye sockets were filled with balls 
of fire. He was a hunter, but he hunted only men, women and children. 
To see him was a sure indication of death. 

257. Falls of Mijinehaha. — These falls are on Minnehaha Creek but a few 
miles southeast of Minneapolis. They are sixty feet high and are noted 
for their remarkable beauty. 

260. There the Ancient Arroiv-maTcer. — Arrow-making was the most skillful 
mechanical work done by the Indians. The arrow-maker first produced 
the stone in fairly good sized pieces, which he broke into smaller frag- 
ments by placing them on his hip with some hard substance underneath 
and striking them a blow with a hammer. When the blow was given 
there was then a sufficient yield in the stone to keep it from being 
shivered into bits, and the arrow-maker could thus break the lump into 



84 . HIAWATHA 

any sized pieces he desired. Great skill and patience were required in 
chipping the edges of the arrow heads. Indeed, such was the skill 
required, both in selecting and fracturing the stone, that arrow-making 
was the employment of particular men, generally old men who had laid 
aside hunting to make arrow and spear heads. The arrow heads were 
mostly made of quartz and flint, though hard sandstone, jasper, and 
chalcedony . were occasionally used. The arrow heads were fastened 
to the shaft by inserting the butt of the head in the split end of the 
shaft, and tying round it a string of deer sinews. 




Arrow Heads. 
262. Chalcedony. — A translucent variety of quartz. 

V. 

HIAWATHA'S FASTING. 

Fasts. — One of the most universal and deep seated of Indian customs was 
that of fasting. No young man was fitted to begin the career of life 
until he had accomplished his great fast. Seven days appear to have 
been the maximum limit of endurance, and the success of the young 
devotee was inferred from the length of time he was able to abstain 
from food. These fasts were anticipated by the Indian youth as one 
of the most important events of his life, prepared for with solemnity 
and endured with a self-devotion bordering on the heroic. During the 
fast the boy lived alone in a secluded lodge built for the purpose and 
passed the time in meditation and in prayer to the Great Spirit. He 
was supposed to see in visions the guardian spirit that was to watch 
over him for the rest of his life. 

33. Saiv the wild rice. — Wild rice was one of the staple foods of the Indian. 

167. Quiclen. — Revive. 

286. Feast of Mondamin. — Mr. Longfellow gives this feast as occurring after 
the kernels of corn had turned to grain. It occurred, however, when 
the corn was ripe for being cooked on the car. The Feast of Monda- 
min (the Spirit's grain) was an offering of the first product of the 
• cornfield to the power that caused its growth. The ceremonies began 
with the gathering of the corn from the field. It was then carried to 
the lodge, boiled in water, and served on the ear to the invited guests, 
after being offered to the Great Spirit in thankfulness. Each guest 
brought his own dish and retired backward through the door, whence 
he proceeded to his own lodge, Avhere the corn was eaten. 

VI. 

HIAWATHA'S FRIENDS. 

32. Flutes so musical and mellow. — The Indian flute consisted of two pieces 
of cedar, hollowed out and glued together so as to form a tube. The 
instrument had a mouthpiece at one end and from six to eight key 
holes. 



HIAWATHA. 85 

63. Islands of the Blessed. — The Indians had many conceptions of the place 
where their spirits of the dead dwelt. One of these was, that when 
an Indian died his spirit was taken across a body of water in a canoe 
to some beautiful islands. Here it w^as always summer; the birds 
were ever singing; game was in abundance; and every one was happy. 
Only the spirits of those who had lived good lives ever reached these 
islands. When a canoe carried the spirit of a bad Indian it sank near 
the shore of one of these islands, and left him standing in water up to 
his neck, doomed to gaze forever at the happy life that is denied to 
him. 

85. Much besought his Guardian Spirit. — Every Indian believed that he had 
a guardian spirit which was chosen by him during his youthful fast. 
This spirit accompanied him everywhere and in its power and good 
influence he placed his trust under every circumstance. It formed the 
theme of his silent meditations; but, however deeply mused upon, the 
name of this spirit was never uttered, and every circumstance con- 
nected with the devotion paid it was studiously and professedly con- 
cealed. 

94. With my nets you never help me. — The Indian women made their nets 
from ropes made from the barks of the cedar and the basswood and 
from the sinews of animals. 

140. Quoit. — Any heavy, flat missile used to be pitched in play at an object. 

148. Pauwating. — The body of water connecting Lake Superior with Lake 
Huron, now known as the Saint Mary's Eiver. 

174. Long they lived in peace together. — In other parts of this poem, Mr. 
Longfellow tells how the evil spirits grew jealous of Chibiabos and 
killed him; how he was made ruler of the land of spirits; and how, 
later, Kwasind was slain by the envious fairies and pygmies. 

VII. 

HIAWATHA'S SAILING. 

17. Taquamenaw. — A river in Northern Michigan. 

19. Moon of Leaves. — May. 

69. Balm. — Balm, or balsam, is a resin that has a pleasant odor. 

75. Fissure. — A narrow opening made by the parting of any substance. 

82. Hedgehog. — The Canadian porcupine. 




Canoe. 

96. Thus the Birch Canoe was huilded, etc. — The birch canoe is the lightest 
and most graceful in form of all water craft. The canoes vary in 
length from the small Chippewa hunting canoe here described, which 
was about twelve feet long, to the large war canoes, which were thirty-six 
feet long and held fourteen men. 



86 HIAWATHA 

VIII. 

HIAWATHA'S FISHING. 

85. Bream. — Another name for the sun-fish. 

101. Befiilgent. — Kadiant; splendid. 

179. Eift. — An opening made by rending or splitting. 

217. Sated. — Having a satisfied appetite. 

IX. 

HIAWATHA AND THE PEARL FEATHEB. 

22. Wampum. — See note on line 4, The Four Winds. 

37. Pestilential. — Bearing disease. 

38. Exhalations. — Breaths. 

67. Hurtled.^— Circled rapidly. 

92. Weltering. — ^Rolling, 

292. He adorned and decked his pipe-stem, etc. — The tuft of feathers of the 
red-headed woodpecker was emblematic of valor, and was used to orna- 
ment the stems of the Indian pipes. 

GLOSSARY. 

Adjidau'mo (ad-ji-daw'mo), Tail-in-Air, the red squirrel. 

AhmeeV, the King of Beavers. 

Algonquin (al-gon'kin), Ojibway. 

Apul'wa (ah-puck'wah), the bulrush. 

Baimwawa (baim-wah'wah), sound of thunder. 

Bemahgut (be-ma\v'goot), the grape-vine. 

Bena (bee'nah), the pheasant. 

Big Sea Water, Lake Superior. 

Camanches (kah-man'ehez), an Indian tribe. 

Chemaun', a birch canoe. 

ChetowaiTc (chet-to-wake'), the plover. 

Chihiahos (ki-bi-ah'bose), a musician; friend of Hiawatha; Euler in the Land 

of Spirits. 
Dacotah (dah-ko'tah), a name including many tribes of the Northwest; in 

this poem, however, it is used to designate the modern Sioux (Soo) only. 

Dahinda (dah-hin'dah), the bullfrog. 

Esa (ee'sah), shame upon you. 

Esconala (es-co-nah'bah), a river in Northern Michigan. 

Ewa-yea (ee'waw-ye'ay), lullaby. 

Gheezis (ge'ziz), the sun. 

Gitche Gumee (git'che goo'me), the Big Sea Water; Lake Superior. 

Hiawatha (he-ah-waw'tha), the Wise Man; the Teacher; son of Mudjekeewis, 
the West-Wind, and Wenonah, daughter of Nokomis. 

Eurons (Hew'rons), a tribe of Indians. 



HIAWATHA 87 

lagoo (ee-a-w'goo), a great boaster and story-teller. 

Ish-loo-daJi', fire; a comet. 

Kdbeyun (kay'hee-yun), the West- Wind. 

Kahibonolka (kah-bib-boA^'-noke'kah), the North-Wind. 

Kagli (kawgh), the hedgehog, or porcupine. 

Kago (kaw'go), do not. 

Kahgahgce (kah-gah-je'), the raven. 

Kaiceen (kah-ween'), no indeed. 

Eayoslik (kay-oshk'), the Noble Scrateher; the sea-gull. 

Keewaydin (ke-way'din), the NortliT\est-Wind, the Home-Wind. 

Kenaheek (ken-naw'beek), a serpent. 

Kenue (ken-new'), the great war-eagle. 

Eenozha (ken-no'zah), the pickerel. 

Kwasind (kwaw'sind), the Strong Man. 

Mahng, the loon. 

Mahn-go-tay'see, loon-hearted, brave. 

Mahnomonee (mah-no-rao'nee), wild rice. 

Mama (may'mah), the woodpecker. 

Mandans (man'danz), an Indian tribe. 

Manito (man'y-to), a spirit, a demi-god. 

MasTcenozha (mas-ken-no'zah), the pike. 

Meenahga (mee-nah'gah), the blueberry. 

Megissogwon (me-jis-sog'won), the great Pearl-Feather, a magician, and the 
Manito of Wealth and Wampum. 

MinjeJialncun (min-je-kaw'wun), Hiawatha's mittens. 

Min7iehaha (min-ne-hah'hah). Laughing Water; a water-fall on a stream enter- 
ing the Mississippi near Minneapolis. 

Minnehaha, Laughing Water; daughter of the Ancient Arrow-maker. 

Minnewatca (min-ne-waw'waw), the sound of wind in the pine trees, 

Mishe-Molwa (mi'she-rao'kwaw), the Great Bear of the Mountains. 

Mishe-Nahma (mi'she-nah'mah), the Great Sturgeon, the King of Fishes. 

Mondamin (mon-daw'min), the Spirit's grain; Indian corn. 

Moon of Leaves, May. 

Moon of Snow-shoes, November. 

Mudjelceewis (mud-je-ke'wis), the West-Wind, father of Hiawatha. 

Mudway-aushka (mud-way-awsh'kah), the sound of waves on a shore. 

Mushl'odasa (mush-ko-day'sah), the grouse. 

Muskoday (Mus'ko-day), the meadow. 

Nahma (nah'mah), the sturgeon. 

Nawadaha (nah-wah-daw'hah), the singer. 

NoJcomis (no-ko'mis), a grandmother; mother of Wenonah. 

Odahmin (o-dah'min), the straAvberry. 

Ojihways (o-jib'wayz), an Indian tribe that originally inhabited the territory 

south of Lake Superior. 
OTcahahwis (o-kah-hah'wis), the fresh-water herring. 
Omeme (o-me'mah), the pigeon, 
Opechce (o-pe'che), the robin. 



88 HIAWATHA 

Owaissa (o-ways'sah), the bluebird. 

PauguJc (paw'guek), death. 

Paiiwating (paw-way 'ting), the body of water connecting Lake Superior with 

Lake Huron, now known as the Saint Marys Eiver. 
Fezlielcee (pez'he-ke), the bison. 
Ponemah (poe-ne'mah), the land of the Hereafter. 
Puggawaugun (pew-gah-waw'gun), a war club. 
PuJiwana (puck-way'nah), the smoke of the Peaee-Pipe. 
Sahwa (sah'wah), the perch. 
Sehowisha (seb-bow-wish'ah), a brook. 
Segwun (seeg-wun'), spring. 
Shalihomin (shah-bo'min), the gooseberry. 
Shah-Shah, long ago. 

Shaugodaya (shaw-go-day'yah), a coward. 
Shawgashee (shaw-gah-shee'), the craw-fish. 
Shawondasee (shaw-won-day'see), the South-Wind. 
Shaw-shaw, the swallow. 

Shingehis (shin'gee-bis), the diver, or grebe. , 

Shoshonies (show'show-nez), an Indian tribe. 
Shuhshuhgah (shew-shew'gah), the blue heron. 
Soangetaha (sone-gah-tah'hah), strong-hearted; a brave warrior. 
Suggema (soo-je'mah), the mosquito. 

Taquamenaw (tah-kwa-me'naw), a river in Northeastern Michigan, now known 
as the Taquamenon. 

Tawasentha (tah-wah-sen'tha). Vale of, a valley in Albany County, New York, 
now known as Norman's Kill. 

Tuscaloosa (tus-kah-loo'sah), a county in Central Alabama. 

Vgudwash (you-gud-wash'), the sun-fish. 

Wabasso (waw-bass'so), the white rabbit; the North. 

Wahun (waw'bun), the East-Wind. 

Wabun An'ning, the Star of the East, the Morning Star. 

Wahonowin (wah-huh-no'win), a cry of lamentation. 

Wahwahtaysee (waw-waw-tay'see), the fire-fly. 

Wampum (wom'pum), beads of shell. 

Wawa (waw'waw), the wild goose. 

WawheeTc (waw'beek), a rock. 

Wawonaissa (waw-won-ais'sah), the whippoorwill. 

Wendigoes (wen'dig-goez), giants, monsters; the most dreadful of the Evil 

Spirits. 
Wenonah (wen-no'nah), Hiawatha's mother, daughter of Nokomis. 
Wyoming (wi-o'ming). Valley of, a valley in Northern Pennsylvania. 
Y€nadiz2;e (yen-nah-diz'zah), an idle fellow. 



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